


Perfect Doll

by KingKagura



Series: Kunoichi Chronicles [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: + OCs - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fem!TobiMada, Female Tobirama, Founders Era, Founders Group, Founding of Konoha, Hoping to make this Angsty, MadaTobi - Freeform, Multi, SYOC, Uchiha Izuna Lives, and fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2018-12-16 15:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11831256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingKagura/pseuds/KingKagura
Summary: What if Tobirama was born a girl?Her father, Butsuma, would highly disapprove. After all, he needs his little perfect soldiers in the form of sons, not daughters. And with Tobirama showing prodigal skills as a ninja and a genius intellect, Butsuma can hardly let such a perfect soldier slip past his fingers.So Tobirama is trained to be a boy, molded into a perfect soldier.She is like a doll.There's a reason why Tobirama never wants to grow out "his" hair.Prequel to "Kakashi Chronicles: the Tale of the Silver-haired Kunoichi"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for looking at this story!  
> So, I've been getting into MadaTobi ever since a friend recommended it to me and now I'm obsessed!  
> Unfortunately, there aren't many MadaTobis out there...  
> So, I'm going to bring in a new MadaTobi into the mix!  
> Also, surprisingly, there aren't a lot of Fem! TobiMadas...  
> Which is why we have this fanfic!
> 
> This series has a lot less planning done to it than my other Naruto fanfic: "Kakashi Chronicles: The Tale of the Silver-haired Kunoichi", so I really might need help on scenarios and stuff! So feel free to ask to see a scene!  
> Though this story is more plot, there will also be funny moments, especially later on in the series! 
> 
> ((So feel free to request scenarios))
> 
> I hope you enjoy~

The full moon shines high in the sky highlighting the night yet casting shadows as if to mock the world below it. A storm of pitter patters races across the stone road, throwing pebbles in the air every so often on impact. Madara huffs irritably as he rushes down the path of the river where he and Hashirama always meet. The boy with messy dark hair glares at every rock with his obsidian eyes, overturning them mentally in search of something.

Earlier, he'd left something there—something very important—and he needed it back in his possession, safe from harm. If it was found by another it would mean trouble for him, and he couldn't let that happen.

A faint splash echoes through the night. Madara’s trained ears catch the hushed sound despite the distance from the origin. Madara reasons that it’s due to how quiet the night is. _Could someone be here?_ The Uchiha heir slows his original pace in response to the thought.

Now, the raven-haired boy decidedly walks on across the stone path in the direction of the splashing sounds. With every step he took, the sound got louder, indicating that he was heading in the right direction. Despite his focus on stealth, Madara still took the time to search for the object he had originally traveled to the river for—after all, he couldn’t just forget about his main objective, now, could he?

Soon enough, Madara had reached the end of the line. His obsidian eyes, hungry for details, scans the area ahead of him. Madara is not so surprised to learn that the river begins with a waterfall. The nature around the cliff holding the down-pouring water wraps around it perfectly, creating a small lake-like shape before it narrows into an outflowing river—the river where Hashirama and he meets. Like the rest of the river, stones surround the perimeter of the lake and lead up to the trees which make up the forests around both Senju and Uchiha clan lands.

Another splash echoes through the air, catching Madara’s attention. Hastily, his obsidian eyes chase after whatever could have made the sound. In a moment they find the cause.

Obsidian eyes widen as Madara’s lips part slightly to release a strained breath.

In front of him is a beautiful girl dancing on top of the water as if she is a water nymph. The Uchiha boy almost deludes that she is one with the grace she moves in. Her pale skin shimmers under the full moon and water droplets that fly in the air around her. Her silky short hair glows silver just the same under the moonlight as if it were reflecting the light to shine in the beautiful way it does. Almost faintly, Madara barely catches the vivid red of her eyes as she twirls around; they give off a mysterious air to the girl when he catches sight of their brilliant scarlet again. Carrying the water into the air gracefully, the mysterious beauty escapes into the night.

Madara stays unmoving, frozen in the pure magnificence of the scene.

 

Senju Tobirama is a highly skilled sensor. Hailed as a genius from a young age, the pale-skinned young soldier is known for “his” genius intellect and skills as a ninja and sensor. So when someone with an Uchiha chakra signature had invaded her training grounds she knew right away. However, she was unable to escape fast enough and now there was an Uchiha boy—probably around Hashirama’s age—staring at her.

In a flicker of a moment, Tobirama assures herself that the boy had not activated the Uchiha clan’s hailed dojutsu—the Sharingan—before examining the boy. His hair is a wild mess of dark tuffs yet they fall into place perfectly to show off his rather handsome face and clear obsidian eyes. She memorizes the face in that brief moment before flickering away from the scene. Tobirama heightens her senses to make sure the boy wasn’t following her, just in case he was as much of an idiot as Hashirama is. Thankfully, the boy stayed stagnant where she left him and by now there was no way the boy could ever catch up with her.

However, that doesn’t mean the silver-haired girl can relax at the moment—no, the boy had seen her body. Which means that an Uchiha knows that she is a girl. Tobirama knows that the boy did not catch sight of her face, thankfully. This means that the Uchiha boy did not recognize her as Tobirama, the cold-hearted genius of the Senjus. However, if they were to meet again, the girl was positive that the boy would recognize her—at least with the way she looks now that is.

 

After sneaking back into her bedroom, Tobirama locks all the windows and doors, not wanting to be interrupted in her task. Not that anyone would really dare to enter her bedroom uninvited besides her older brother, Hashirama, her cousin, Touka, or her father. Thankfully, the latter would knock beforehand unlike the first two who charge in without a single notice.

Tobirama makes her way into her private bathroom which is connected to her bedroom. She flicks the light on as she strolls over to and stands before the mirror and bores into the sight of her pretty, short pearl-colored hair; it was just above her shoulders and longer than a bob. Her magnificent scarlet eyes gaze blankly at her reflection as she accesses her appearance.

Tobirama remembers the first person to praise her hair was her older brother, Hashirama. The idiot for an older brother had given her a soft smile as he felt the ends of her silky hair. _“Your hair is really pretty, Tobirama. You should grow it out!”_ She remembers how she was so happy that her older brother had praised her that she refused to get her hair trimmed for months, growing out her hair to her shoulders. This infuriated their father so much that one day he had just walked up to her and cut it off himself.

Afterwards, she never cried. After all, she was suspecting that reaction from their father, Butsuma, who only ever wanted sons to be born for him. Sons that would make perfect little soldiers in this ancient foolish war against the Uchihas. But, instead, his second child was a damned daughter—not a son. It made the old coot grow mad enough that he doesn’t even think of Tobirama as a girl and instead treats her as if she is a boy. Tobirama doesn’t care—she has been living like this her whole life, after all. Tobirama has only ever known how to live as a man—and these warring times created no sense in her being brought up as a woman anyway. In fact, Tobirama was surely happier brought up to know how to defend herself rather than to do tea ceremonies and host guests which are worthless skills in this era.

Tobirama grabs a tuft of silver hair and contemplates for a second before using her dagger to slice through it. She lets the dead hairs escape from her hands and slowly drift to the floor.

 _“Nee-san!”_ She could hear Kawarama’s smooth voice. _“Nee-san!”_ Tobirama lifts another group of hair and brings the dagger threateningly closer to it. _“Can I touch your hair?”_ The sharp edge of the dagger snaps the pearly hair loose and lets it disperse towards the ground.

Tobirama continues to cut her hair slowly—almost painfully as memories flood her mind. _“Your hair is so pretty and smooth… I really like your hair, Nee-san!”_ Itama’s grin flashes through her mind as another group of her soft pearly hair falls to the dirty floor.

More strands of hair disappear to the ground before Tobirama puts down the dagger and looks at herself in the mirror. Her hair was now takes on a spiky, boyish cut—at least she looked more handsome than her own brother with his tacky hairdo. She can’t help but admit that if she didn’t know better, she would say that the child in front of her is a boy.

Now, finished with her hair trim, Tobirama decides to take a hot shower to wash away the sweat from training and loose hairs that stuck to her skin.

The moment she steps out of her shower, refreshed, she would no longer be able to linger as Tobirama Senju—younger sister of Hashirama, older sister of Kawarama and Itama. After all, two of the things holding her to that identity have already disappeared—all thanks to those bloody Uchiha and this stupid, bloody war—and the idiotic adults that uses their own children and their clan’s children as soldiers. From now on, she or “he” is Senju Tobirama—the genius child soldier under Senju Butsuma, his perfect “son”; his “perfect” little warrior; his perfect **doll** —

—and there was nothing she could do about it. Especially not if she wants to protect the only brother she has left—and his purity, his naivety, and dreams of peace.

 

The next morning, when Tobirama arrives at the dining hall for breakfast, those who are present gawk. Hashirama’s brown eyes widen as his gaping mouth falls the the tatami floor. Touka has a similar reaction, except she does less of letting her jaw hit the ground and more gaping like a fish.

Butsuma takes one glance at her as she sits down next to her brother. “I see you’re putting more effort into being my perfect son.” He nods without a smile and continues to eat his breakfast of fried fish, white rice, and miso soup. “Good, I was sick of your long hair.”

Tobirama stays silent as per usual, even when Hashirama and Touka start bothering her about her hair. The two whine about how it was such a waste to cut it and fervently question why she did it. However, Tobirama doesn’t give an answer—no, this was something he could absolutely not give an answer about. She wouldn’t want to reveal weakness when in front of their father and clan head—not a single drop of it.

 

“Okay,” Madara huffs in exasperation at the sight of the sulking figure in front of him. “Why are you sulking this time?” It was noon and, like usual, Madara finds his friend, Hashirama, by the river. However, this time his friend was sitting down on the rocks and obviously sulking. _Then again… when is he not?_

Hashirama pouts, “It’s nothing.”

Madara scratches the back of his head. “I’ll listen to you.” The raven-haired boy releases a sigh, “Come on—tell me.”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Hashirama continues to sulk, answering without even thinking.

Madara’s eyebrow twitches in annoyance at how stubborn the brunette is. “You’re obviously not with the way you’re sulking.” Madara finally snaps, not wanting this conversation to drag out any longer when he knows what is going to come from it. “Hurry up and tell me!”

Hashirama mumbles something before digging his face into his knees even more. Madara was unable to understand the boy’s gibberish due to how low the brunette talked and becomes even more irritated. His eyebrow twitches as he releases a growl. “Talk clearer, you moron!”

“S-sorry!” Hashirama jumps up. “But, I don’t know what to do…” the brunette bow bows his head to sulk some more. “My little sis—brother cut his hair.”

The statement confuses Madara. _What’s the deal with someone cutting their hair?_ The raven-haired boy arches an eyebrow at his brunette friend. “And, what’s the problem with that? People want to cut their hair every once in a while.”

“B-but—it was so pretty!” Hashirama flails. “And, now it’s—it’s—”

Madara gives the boy a deadpan look. “Don’t tell me your little brother decided to copy your lame hairstyle.”

“Wh-wha—” Hashirama gapes like a fish for a second before he falls to the ground and tucks into his knees to sulk again. “Is it really that lame…?”

Madara’s face contorts at his friend’s annoying bad habit of sulking in a flicker of a second. He scratches his chin, pondering on a way to deter the conversation and cheer up his friend when he remembers the sight from last night. “Oh yeah!” Madara catches Hashirama’s attention with the sudden burst of emotion. “Last night, I came here to look for something important to me—”

“Hmm? Do you mean your locket?” Hashirama interrupts him, interested.

“Ahh… yeah.” Madara presents a sour expression for being interrupted.

“Oh! I picked it up yesterday!” Hashirama’s face brightens as he digs into his shirt, pulling out the familiar old locket. “Here, I meant to give it to you, but I forgot until now!” The brunette boy hands Madara his locket back with a grin.

Madara stares down at his locket and blinks. He then begins to seethe. “Hashirama…!” Hashirama jolts with a squeak at his best friend’s growing rage. “You kept my precious locket away from me!”

“Eh?! I’m sorry!” Hashirama waves his hands in front of him as a protection mechanism before he returns to sulking. “I’m such a terrible friend, I totally forgot to return your treasure. I can see why you would be mad at me…”

This causes Madara to facepalm with a ragged sigh. The dark-haired boy tucks away the locket into his shirt, deciding not to go any further, less the consequences of dealing with a depressed Hashirama. Madara decides he would continue to tell the event from last night to his friend. “Anyways, last night I was searching for my locket here when I heard a splashing sound.” Hashirama finally crawls out of his sulking position to face his friend and listen to his story. “So, I went to investigate it, which lead me to the waterfall upstream, and that’s where I saw it—”

“ _It_?” Hashirama tilts his head curiously at his dark-haired friend. “What did you see?”

“A girl—a super beautiful girl.” Madara hushes Hashirama when the brunette tries to cut him off. “She was like a water nymph dancing in the water when I found her! Her skin was pale and her hair glowed under the moonlight! And—”

“You sound like a pervert.” A hand covers Hashirama’s mouth as he snickers.

A vein pops from Madara’s head as rage blazes like fire in the young raven-haired boy.

“ **HASHIRAMA!** ”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I was doing some thinking on the plot for my series "Kakashi Chronicles" when I thoughts--  
> "Wouldn't it be perfect if I could add a MadaTobi unit into it?" and then I thought of my story "Perfect Doll"!  
> I then realized that this could be the perfect plot pawn to use! So basically, now Kakashi Chronicles and Perfect Doll are part of a series I like to call "Kunoichi Chronicles" since well all these stories have in common that I gender-bent a character!  
> Anyways, there will be some things from Perfect Doll that will carry on to Kakashi Chronicles, but since their timelines are so far apart there isn't much to worry about missing if you don't read one or the other! It's just that in Kakashi Chronicles some events or things that will happen in Perfect Doll will be depicted!
> 
> Anyways, please send in scenario requests! And I love to see the SYOCs! I am actually sort of looking for minor OCs for clan members--you know, Uchihas, Senjus, Naras, Yamanakas, Akimichis, Aburame, Inuzuka, Hyuugas, etc. for the Konoha days arc that comes after all this angst. ;3
> 
> Enjoy~

Tobirama has noticed that recently Hashirama has been going off somewhere during his free time. The young girl had caught her blubbering older brother several times escaping the Senju estate and going off into the forest towards the river.

However, she only called out to him once during these numerous escapades.

“Anija.”

Hashirama jumps at the sound of his little sister’s voice and frantically turns around. “Ahh—” He waves his arms through the air as he tries to explain himself. He calms when he realizes that there is only Tobirama present and slumps in relief. “Ohh… it’s just Tobirama… phew!”

Tobirama tilts her head, arching her eyebrow at her brother’s suspicious behavior but doesn’t comment on it. Instead, the girl turns away from her brother, showing disinterest in whatever her brother is planning, “Make sure not to overexert yourself during training, Anija.”

“Y-yeah! Thanks, Tobirama!” Hashirama gives her a bright grin before he rushes off, making sure to wave to his little sister before leaving.

After Tobirama had secured that her brother was far enough that he wouldn’t be able to sense her—not that that was very far with how Hashirama could barely sense her earlier—the young silver-haired girl follows after him. She makes sure to keep a safe distance from her brother as she stalks him through the shadows of the woods. Soon, she feels her brother stop at the river just as she had suspected. Likewise, there was another chakra signature beside her brother—one that felt strangely familiar and very Uchiha, but the girl couldn’t place the chakra to a face from the battlefield.

Raising her awareness, Tobirama prowls around the trees surrounding the river, making sure to hide in the shadows with an available escape route in case the Uchiha could sense her and would attack. Tobirama hears an eruption of laughter which draws her red eyes to the figures of her Hashirama with his tacky bowl haircut and dorky clothes and his supposed new Uchiha _friend_. This “friend” of his has long raven hair which parts to frame the side of his face and wears a casual blue yukata with white pants. Tobirama can’t help but feel that she had seen the boy somewhere before, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on when and where. Suddenly, the two begin to engage in a spar.

In an instant, Tobirama’s experienced red eyes catch the intention of the brawl, noticing quickly how the two avoided anything life-threatening and stuck to basic taijutsu that wouldn’t reveal too much. Tobirama draws on a hypothesis that the two do not know the other’s clan names and wish to keep it secret in case of the worst case scenario—that they are from enemy clans. The silver-haired girl narrows her eyes sadly as she watches her brother’s bright smile. _He never smiles like that to me anymore…_ Tobirama quickly brushes the thought away, not wanting to let the emotion swallow her. Instead, her crimson eyes soften slightly as the two bicker and tease each other. _At least Hashirama has someone who can make him smile like in the old days… at least he has someone he can call a friend—_

 _—too bad it had to be an_ **_Uchiha_ ** _._

In a moment, the two boys wrestle into the river, causing a huge splash of water in their wake. That’s when the revelation hits Tobirama. Her crimson eyes twitch slightly as the realization looms in. _That Uchiha boy…_

 _...he is the same one from_ **_that_ ** _night._

Tobirama remembers the look of awe on the raven-haired boy’s face as she flees from the river. The moonlight had shine perfectly that night, making the boy’s features burn into her genius mind as her chakra senses made sure to remember him. The silver-haired girl knows she can stay no longer—she cannot risk recognition from the Uchiha boy—

—for herself—

—and for Hashirama’s sake.

She cannot allow the Uchiha boy to discover they are Senju.

Tobirama decides at that moment to help her brother keep his secret—because gods forbid her older brother is an idiot with no skills of manipulation or lying. The brunette can barely lie about how he accidentally stepped on the flower crown she made for him as a kid and made a new one to replace it, and it looked nothing like the flower crown she had made for him—the wrong flowers and everything. She sometimes questions how her brother can even survive in the world of ninjas with its darkness and manipulation. Her brother is too bright—too pure and naive despite being in this world longer than her.

Unlike her, he is untainted and is yet to be tainted.

She would make sure to protect him from this world—

—even if it means diving deeper into this world—

—even if it means listening to their father’s beck and call as his “perfect soldier”—

—even if it means being a **doll**.

 

“I want you to follow Hashirama when he goes out again and tell me who he is meeting.” Butsuma’s authoritative voice commands the silver-haired girl who kneels before him.

Not showing any emotion in her face, Tobirama gazes at her father’s armor, not daring to gaze into his eyes. “Yes, father.”

At the end of the day, she reported about the Uchiha boy Hashirama meets at the river.

To be a “perfect soldier”—a doll—she must listen to her master… right?

_This is all for Hashirama’s sake—so he may remain out of father’s clutches._

Or at least that’s what Tobirama convinces herself as she and Butsuma confront Hashirama about his secret meetings with the Uchiha boy.

After the incident, Tobirama rushes to Hashirama’s side, wanting to comfort him for losing his friendship. She wanted so much to apologize, to tell him that it was either his friendship or his dream that would be on the line, to reason with him that this was the only way to make things right—the only way to protect his pure naivety.

She reaches out to him. “Anija.”

Tobirama remembers the look on Hashirama’s face when he turns his attention to her. His eyes were cold, unfeeling, passing through her like she was all the others.

From then on Hashirama always gave her those eyes—

—and Tobirama never voices the pain that pangs through her chest every time he looks at her.

It was as if a little part of her heart died in those moments.

Tobirama learned that the Uchiha boy’s name is “Madara” during the confrontation at the river.

The silver-haired girl has seen and heard Hashirama howl the boy’s name every time they met on the battlefield—the two always fought against the other. However, the fights between them were not the same as those light-hearted, fun-filled spars that Tobirama had had the pleasure of spying on—no, they were bloody, to-the-death struggles of madness and passion. Hashirama constantly tries to reason with Madara, trying to pull the other boy back into their dreams of peace. On the other hand, Madara fought hard against his own dreams, trying to do what is best for his family.

Tobirama admires the passion in the raven-haired young man’s eyes. _He must love his family passionately._ She remembers how Madara is the same boy who chose his family over his friendship with Hashirama—over the prospective image of peace that they had dreamed of together during their days of happiness. She remembers how he threw away said envisage of peace when he stated that he would meet Hashirama at the battlefield from then on.

The girl feels something tug at her heart from the thought as her eyes drift to her own brother then let them wander back to Madara and then to her own opponent, Madara’s little brother, Izuna.

Somewhere in her subconscious she wishes that her brother would look at her with the same eyes he looked at Madara with—or even more so with the eyes Madara has when looking at his younger sibling.

Without visibly showing it, she grits her teeth.

The Senju clan and Uchiha clan clash on the moss-covered stone battlefield. Many people from both sides lay on the ground, either dead or unconscious but mostly dead, their bodies clutter the ground hazardously. In the center of the battlefield lay the most important battle—the one with the two clan heads: Hashirama and Madara. The two old friends clash fiercely, not letting a second be wasted as they struggle and fight.

Meanwhile, a bit away from their older siblings, Tobirama and Izuna stand on opposite ends of the field.

Earlier, the two had been fighting mostly with their katanas—the two younger siblings were evenly matched just as their older siblings were. However, they lacked the old friendship that holds back their older siblings. They had knocked each other with harsh blows from the sword to their hands and feet. Tobirama had even been able to place a Flying Thunder God seal on the dark-haired boy’s stomach—not that the Uchiha was aware of the new trick up Tobirama’s sleeves.

Now, both hold a katana in their hands as they pant, trying to catch their breaths. Crimson eyes glare into obsidian eyes as they do back to the other. Both younger siblings are tense, their senses open as they examine their opponent, waiting to see who would be the first to move.

Izuna makes the first move. The dark-haired boy bends down, readying himself for his charge soon after in Tobirama’s direction. The silver-haired warrior quickly deflects the sword jabbing towards her, only for Izuna to lean into her. His Sharingan flashes scarlet and the sudden shift from obsidian black to bloody red shocks Tobirama, causing the girl to quick reflexes to kick in. Immediately, Tobirama closes her eyes, as to avoid being ensnared by those damned crimson eyes.

Predicting this, Izuna acts fast in kneeing Tobirama’s hips before punching the side of her face, throwing the silver-haired warrior across the stone ground and tumbling into the boulder. Tobirama coughs on impact, the sudden blows causing her to lose her breath.

Hastily as to not lose his chance, Izuna signs. _Fire Style: Great Fireball!_ The Uchiha blows out a great big fireball which launches towards Tobirama’s fallen figure.

Swiftly, Tobirama signs a counter jutsu for the fireball. _Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!_ Water swells and rises around the silver-haired girl’s body, forming a huge water dragon which collides with the fireball as if it were trying to eat it. Steam erupts from the collision, covering the battlefield and the occupants in it. No one inside could visibly see anything within a good yard in front of them. However, Tobirama never really need vision when it comes to aim—she has her advanced chakra senses for that.

Being a born sensor has its perks, especially on a blind battlefield.

Quickly sensing Izuna’s particular blend of Uchiha signature, Tobirama approaches and aims a bundle of kunai at her opponent. She knew full well that the Uchiha was using his Sharingan and that he would be able to notice and dodge each and every one of the Kunai she throws at him—however, she also knew he was not suspecting her newly completed jutsu.

Izuna’s arrogant smirk drops to a gasp as Tobirama suddenly appears in front of him.

“Flying Thunder God Slash!” With lightning speed, Tobirama slices Izuna’s stomach. The boy stands there frozen in shock before he coughs—coughs blood. Heavy red drips from the raven-haired boy’s opened side as Madara rushes over to the scene.

“ **IZUNA!** ”

Panting, Tobirama turns around just in time to catch the sight. Madara’s obsidian eyes full of concern and passion for his bleeding younger brother as he lifts him to support Izuna on his shoulder.

Hashirama follows after Madara, stopping him to try and convince him once again to come and make peace. However, the whole conversation falls on deaf ears to Tobirama as her crimson eyes widen at Hashirama’s sword which digs into the stone at her older brother’s side. Her older brother did not rush to her side as Madara had rushed to Izuna’s. That was an impossible wish on Tobirama’s part—after all, Hashirama cares more about Madara than her—this was a fact that Tobirama had always known since that day his eyes turned cold when he looked upon her.

After the battle, when the Senju and Uchiha both retreat, all Tobirama can remember is watching the disappearing figure of Madara and Izuna and the closeness between them—

—the closeness of family she could never hope for ever since that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> This time this chapter is more of an angsty (okay super angsty) background stuff. The next chapter is where the real plot starts! Huhuhuhu...! x3
> 
> Anyways, please send in scenario requests and OCs! They help a lot! (By scenario requests it is probably easier if you ask for something after Konoha founding--cause I will spend quite a bit of time on that once I finish all of this angsty stuff)
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I was able to update before school starts! xD  
> Tomorrow, school starts for me so I will be updating much later than I usually do... or at least more hazardously. It just depends on how my schedule works out. I mostly have all morning classes for college, but they are engineering, physics, and calculus classes... so... idk how much work I will have to do. Rejoice, everyone! I am really good at math! So you guys don't have to worry too much! (I also have a psych class and anthropology class, so idk how I will do), But oh wells! I'll deal with it! :)
> 
> Thank you for those who have sent me your SYOCs! I really enjoyed reading about them and I can't wait to implement them into the story!
> 
> Please remember to send scenario requests and OCs!~
> 
> Enjoy~ [[the angst]] :3

“Anija,” Tobirama greets her older brother after shutting the door behind her.

Ever since the retreat, Hashirama had shut himself in his room to do what he always did when Madara turned him down—sulk. As usual, Tobirama had left her older brother to calm down until dinner, waiting to see if her older brother would come down and eat. This time, however, Hashirama did not join her and Touka for dinner. Concerned, Tobirama whips up a plate of dinner—rice, fish, and some soup—and brings it up to his room. With a curt knock, Tobirama enters her brother’s room, shutting the door behind her, and bringing his dinner to his desk.

Hashirama sits in front of it, a frown etched on his face. Reacting to her intruding presence, Hashirama turns to focus on her—yet his eyes never look at her. No, instead, his eyes seemed to see something else—another scene perhaps or another person—perhaps _their_ _father_.

“Anija,” Tobirama repeats, her voice even, masking the desperation underneath the porcelain mask. She feels a little bit of her heart breaking when those unfeeling brown eyes ignore her existence—and those pieces of her broken heart clump together and seem to fortify the porcelain mask.

It is in these moments that Tobirama remembers the passion in her brother’s brown eyes—the warmth that fills them when he talks to Madara—when he talks about Madara. It is a gaze she will never have the hope of accepting—instead, she hordes whatever she can muster to grab ahold of—even if they are cold and unfeeling. As long as they _see_ her than she is fine.

She would do anything for them to look upon her again.

Hashirama growls at her presence before he hastily rises from his seat. “Why did you have to do that, Tobirama?”

Hashirama’s harsh growl full of disappointment and sadness and guilt stabs at Tobirama’s cracking heart, like kunais at a target. The pain is almost unbearable yet Tobirama never shows any change on her face—she is not allowed to. After all, Tobirama is a doll—a supposedly unfeeling, unemotional doll.

No one must know that she holds emotions which make her weak—like sadness, guilt, and mercy—

The only ones who are allowed to know are Senjus—yet even they forget that she is not perfect—that she is human. Even the one person she wishes would see her as she is—as Tobirama, not the doll their father had concocted—Hashirama did not see her as more than anything but, at most, Butsuma’s ghost.

Tobirama could never allow others to see how their words affect her—she was trained not to and she had adapted to do so when she was under her father’s command—so she doesn’t.

Hashirama’s eyes flare with emotion, and they never lie about his feelings.

In those brown orbs, the feelings of grief, guilt, and disappointment glisten. Tobirama knew instantly where these feelings were placed:

Grief for Madara’s refusal on peace and their friendship.

Guilt for Madara’s sadness and Izuna’s injury—

—and disappointment for Tobirama who had caused said injury for causing said injury and sadness.

“We are at war—when it comes to a battle, the one to fall was either him or me.” Tobirama answers.

 _What is Hashirama expecting?_ This is war, no one can hold back unless you wish to be injured—

_Would Hashirama rather me be the one mortally injured instead?_

Internally, Tobirama feels her heart drop at the revelation.

Hashirama’s next flurry of words rushes through Tobirama, snagging her and forcing her to listen and swallow them without being able to waver.

“You didn’t have to mortally injure Izuna! I know full well that you could’ve just knocked Madara’s little brother unconscious!”

 _He underestimates Izuna—even if the boy is younger than me it doesn’t change the fact he is just as skilled. I am lucky enough to even have given him that injury and it was all because of the new jutsu I had created._ Tobirama wants to argue this but holds back, letting her older brother continue his painful rant.

“Now Madara will never agree to the peace alliance! He will never agree now with Izuna dead—he won’t rest until Izuna is avenged and **you know** that!”

_Ahh—he is accusing me of sabotaging his dream._

The silver-haired girl has always known that Madara was important to her brother—almost as important as his envisage of peace he boasts about. Tobirama also knew how much Madara is weaved into his dream of peace. _How much of me is in your picture of peace?_ The girl pushes back the thought in favor of thinking of Madara. The passionate Uchiha man who values his family above all else—even his dreams of peace.

He was the first Hashirama had met out of the family to acknowledge Hashirama’s dream but he was not the first to share it. It seems even Hashirama has forgotten the fact.

He has forgotten the fact that Tobirama was the first to share his dreams of peace. It was when they were younger, after Kawarama’s burial. Hashirama, Tobirama, and Itama discussed about how the adults should just stop the war and make peace if they want to stop fighting. Hashirama had told of his dreamt up peace and Tobirama had agreed with him even if Itama was a bit wary on the thought.

A thought haunts the girl.

_How about if Hashirama doesn’t wish for me to be in his peace?_

The silver-haired girl tries to reason to herself that that was impossible. Even if Hashirama was ignoring her now, eventually he would see her by his side the whole time—eventually, he would notice her… right?

Of course he would—after all, Hashirama and Madara are similar! And Madara is a very passionate man who loves his family—even if the only one left of it is Izuna, his younger brother that Tobirama had cut down. Surely Hashirama, being the loving man full of forgiveness would forgive her—

—yet he still hasn’t looked her in the eye with even a speck of warmness.

“Why, Tobirama?” Hashirama’s voice breaks Tobirama from her rapidly spinning thoughts. “Why couldn’t you show a little mercy to Izuna, just this once? And now Madara won’t even consider peace anymore, Tobirama! Do you know what you’ve done?!”

_I know full well what I have done._

Tobirama’s crimson eyes stayed emotionless and still as they usually did; however, deep inside there were tears being shoved into a pouch and thrown next to several other pouches—all wet and beginning to soak through, yet not quite spilling.

_I have lost my chance of ever regaining your love that I lost all those years ago—_

_—I lost the chance to ever have those warm brown loving eyes look at me ever again—_

_—I’ve truly lost the only light in my cold world._

“Just get out of my sight, Tobirama!” Hashirama digs his face into the palms of his hands as he looks away from Tobirama. The long-haired brunette doesn’t need to motion to the door as Tobirama makes her way to the exit. She steps outside her brother’s room and takes one last glance at her brother’s hunched over figure which refuses to look at her.

“I understand.” She slides the door shut.

_I will restore the light you once held, brother—_

_—no matter_ **_what_ ** _it takes._

 

Once leaving Hashirama’s room, Tobirama makes a beeline to her own room and slides the door shut silently behind her. Swiftly, she sweeps through her room, gathering all the equipment she needs. She glances at her signature blue armor which hangs next to her closet, but passes by it—she couldn’t take something so heavy with her even if it could protect her. Then a second thought flows through her mind—if she made the armor smaller she could still have it just in case something goes wrong. Hastily, she scavenges through her scrolls, finding the one she needs—a small sealing scroll.

Using the scroll, she seals many necessities that could be useful in case of an emergency: her armor, her swords, a basic medical kit, some rations, extra kunai and shuriken, and some of her custom Flying Thunder God seals. Neatly, Tobirama rolls the scroll back up and seals it before putting it in a small pouch. The silver-haired woman then proceeds to tuck the pouch into her yukata before checking for anything else she missed. Passing by the mirror, Tobirama stops for a second to check her appearance.

Her silver hair is still short—it has been short since that day when she cut it and over the years she maintained the same shaggy hairstyle to avoid looking like a girl as he grew older. Despite the efforts, she still looked slightly feminine—Tobirama blames her thin form but thanks that her breasts are not very developed. It would have been very troublesome to have to hide it if it did grow any larger. She trails down her thin form taking note of her clothing. Tobirama is wearing her usual black turtleneck—one of the many she wears regularly for underneath her armor. The turtleneck often helps hide how thin her neck is and the fact that, unlike males, she doesn’t have an adam's apple. Above the turtleneck is her casual men’s yukata—it has a smooth gradient design with the top being a light grey and the bottom a deep azure. The yukata hangs over her black pants which reach just below her knees and, from there, her leg is wrapped by bandages to her ankles where her black sandals wrap around.

 _At least I look less threatening._ Tobirama snorts at the thought.

The silver-haired girl closes her crimson eyes, releasing her chakra and focuses it—searching for the familiar chakra signature she needs to connect to.

In the distance, just where Tobirama suspected it to be, the small flare of life was still evident. This causes the girl to feel relief swell inside her—she still had a chance.

And she wouldn’t mess this up this time—

—she was going to make sure Hashirama’s dream comes true—

—to restore the warm light he once held—

—no matter **what** the _consequences_ —

—no matter _what_ the **sacrifice**.

Tobirama focuses on that chakra signature she had found.

_Flying Thunder God Technique._

Senju Tobirama disappears from the Senju Estate in an instant—like a flash.

The Uchiha clan lands held an air of eerie grief—as if the land itself was mourning for the dying Uchiha clan heir and the poor Uchiha clan head.

Ever since their retreat, Madara has refused to leave Izuna’s side as the clan’s best healers tried to heal him. Unfortunately, all the healers were not skilled enough to heal the mortal wound and now Izuna lays dying in a coffin with a bed of flowers surrounding him. Izuna had never thought he would be able to attend his own funeral, but, at this rate, it seemed he would. He laughed in his head at the thought. Izuna was not allowed to speak out loud, Madara had insisted that he keep as much strength as he could—still hoping that his little brother could survive this.

Despite his insistence, Madara is shooed away from Izuna so that the older Uchiha could at least eat. Izuna was slightly relieved, he didn’t want his death to cause his brother so much grief. However, in those moments without Madara silently—okay not that silently—whispering prayers while holding his hands, Izuna felt time tick by slowly. It was so slow it felt painful.

It was around the time that Izuna had whined for the hundredth time in his mind about how loud and creepy the clock in the room is that he felt another’s presence. At first, the younger Uchiha thinks it's his older brother—however, he throws the thought away immediately—his brother would not have such a quiet and serene presence, not with all his passion and rage.

It takes only a few seconds of pondering before he feels a slightly warm feeling on his abdomen—right where his wound is. Izuna soon realizes that whoever had entered was healing him—he thanks the person, but he knows it is too late—there is nothing that can be done. He has resigned to his fate.

However, the figure did not seem to get it and persistently tries to heal Izuna’s wound. Izuna thanks the person for caring, but shakes his head mentally at this person’s bullheadedness—there was just no hope for him left. It was when he thought this that he started to feel the effects of this person’s healing.

He could feel it—his wound was closing and the infection was being eradicated at the same time. Izuna knew in that moment that whoever was healing him was not an Uchiha—after all, all the most skilled Uchiha healers have tried to heal him with no avail. And the chakra which radiates from this person’s jutsu does not feel the same as an Uchiha’s—no, it is much more tranquil and warm—gentle even. It was like nothing Izuna had ever felt before in chakra—soothing and healing rather than full of hate and passion. Silently, Izuna welcomes the healer—whoever it is—and notes that he will be sure to thank this person once he has been fully healed and can open his eyes.

Around the moment Izuna is about healed, a sudden burst of noise fills the room—the door, Izuna guesses, must have been kicked off its hinges as someone rushes in. “Izuna!” The mad cry of his older brother shouts. Izuna makes the connection immediately—Madara had barged into the room. Whoever was healing him suddenly stops healing him and Izuna feels himself pout at the loss of the soothing chakra.

“Who are you?! Get away from my little brother!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was it? What do you think?  
> Who do you think came to heal Izuna??? ((it's pretty obvious))  
> Also, I did very much get inspired by blackkat's "As Is the Sea Marvelous"!  
> Well, at least for what sort of happens... what I wrote is different from blackkat's fic! Just some elements are the same! (I couldn't help but agree with the point of view of how Hashirama never thinks of Tobirama which is one of the reason's why I made their relationship this way) :3  
> However, my story WILL NOT turn out like blackkat's story (because it doesn't just end with the peace treaty) though it will have some elements (like parts of this chapter) that are inspired by the story.  
> Also, you should check out that story--it is REALLY good!
> 
> Anyways, please send scenarios and ocs!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya! Okay, so I'm not sure if I'm portraying Madara and Tobirama correctly so sorry for any OOC-ness you find! I'm trying to see what I have revealed of Tobirama so far in the story so I can focus her in the direction of development I want to go in! So any commentary on that will be a lot of help! I'm afraid that my view on her development at the moment may be too biased...
> 
> I am so happy with all the OCs that have been sent so far! All of them is very interesting and I can't wait to implement it into the story! Unfortunately, most will have to wait until the pact is signed and Konoha is being built to debut... Some may debut early depending on their background though! I also have a few of my own OCs that will debut as main characters! (An idea that I got after reading "How to Woo Socially Awkward Shinobi" by Cuzosu)  
> You all should read it! It is really good! :)
> 
> Anyways, please send in scenario requests and ocs!
> 
> Enjoy~

Madara had left Izuna alone for only five minutes to eat his dinner when he feels the sudden chakra flare appear in his little brother’s resting place. Hastily, the raven-haired young man jumps up, abandoning his food before he rushes back to the room he was once guarding. Madara’s mind races as he thinks about Izuna and the intruder. Rage bubbles within Madara at the thought of the intruder coming to assassinate his little brother.

“Izuna!” Hastily, Madara kicks down the door as soon as he is within reach of it, not caring about the repairs that would be needed to be done later for it. As soon as Madara storms into the room he catches sight of a shadowy figure above his little brother, hand extended and a faint green glow coming from it. With the dark lighting of the room that was only supported by the cascading moonlight from the window, Madara couldn’t identify the figure—but that didn’t matter to the passionate Uchiha clan head.

All that mattered was that Izuna is safe.

The green glow fades from the intruder's hand as the figure turns to face him.

By protective instinct, Madara rages forward at the mysterious intruder with his Sharingan activated. “Who are you?! Get away from my little brother!”

The intruder tries to flee from Madara, sidestepping away from the man’s mad charge; however, this was not enough to deter Uchiha Madara. Quickly, Madara reaches out his left hand to grasp the intruder’s hand before he or she can escape. By instinct, the Uchiha clan head notes how small the wrist is but pushes the observation for analysis later. Madara can feel the intruder jolt slightly by his harsh grip on their wrist which makes Madara smirk. Gracefully, Madara pulls the figure with him into the section of the room that is lit by the moonlight outside so he can get a better look at the intruder’s face. Black tomoe spin in those crimson eyes as they grow wide at the sight and the initial rage in him flickers.

In his hand is Hashirama’s little brother’s wrist. Madara takes a second to whack at his brain to remember that doofus’ younger sibling's name and in a moment the memory comes back to him. Hashirama’s little brother—Tobirama—stands before him, the boy dubbed the “Senju’s Perfect Soldier” must take pride in his name with how he does not react much to Madara and can keep a straight calm demeanor as he gazes into Madara’s face.

For a moment, Madara notes how the crimson in the boy’s eyes looked just like a Sharingan with their bloody scarlet just without the tomoe decorating them. He then drifts his eyes down to the Senju’s clothes and realizes the boy isn’t wearing any armor. _Why would he come into enemy territory without armor—No, wait! There are more important things to think about than that! Like what the hell does he think he is doing to Izuna!_

Snapping himself out of his initial daze, Madara feels the anger build up in him. “ ** _You_** ,” Madara growls at Tobirama whose calm facade does not drop. “What **do** _you_ think you are doing to Izuna!?”

Tobirama wrist hurts. She loathes the unnecessary strength Madara puts into subduing her, even if it is reasonable since she was intruding. However, Tobirama cannot stand this any longer—she has no desire to be caught by Madara with her work almost done.

Tobirama closes her eyes as to avoid being caught by those cursed eyes full of love and hate. “I’m fixing what I’ve done.” She answers honestly and almost robotically.

Madara arches his eyebrow at the Senju’s cryptic message. _Fixing what he’s done?! What in the world_ — “What did you do to Izuna?” Madara growls once again, confused by what the younger man’s words could possibly mean.

Tobirama is about to speak again when a sudden cough is heard from the casket. With a groan, Izuna begins to sit up within the coffin, the dark-haired boy is dressed in a white yukata like he is a ghost and with his pale skin, he almost looks as if a ghost rising from the dead. Madara reflexively reacts to his little brother, “Izuna!” This ultimately lets Madara release Tobirama’s wrist from his grasps, which Madara realizes too late.

Tobirama takes a quick glance back at Izuna and smiles sadly—an action which is not missed by Madara’s active Sharingan. _Tobirama…?_

Tobirama then disappears in a flash, her chakra disappearing from the Uchiha lands entirely.

Izuna coughs again, drawing Madara’s full attention to his little brother. He helps Izuna by his side as the younger Uchiha heir rips off the bandages around his eyes. Hastily, Izuna twirls to face Madara and his older brother is taken back by the glitter in his eyes and clear curiosity on his face. “Nii-san! Where is the mysterious stranger who healed me?”

“Healed you?” Madara blinks at Izuna’s statement, before he looks down to where Izuna’s mortal wound had lain in his abdomen. The truth is revealed as Izuna hazardously tries to rise out of the coffin no blood breaks out from the pure white yukata. The revelation simmers into Madara’s mind as he remembers Tobirama’s words:

 _“I’m fixing what I’ve done.”_ Madara remembers clearly how the Senju’s voice seemed to be a higher pitch than normal and almost… out of breath seeming.

 _So that was what Tobirama meant by “fixing what he’s done”..._ Madara glances at Izuna who had long jumped out of the coffin in favor of stretching and dancing around the room for clues of his mysterious savior. _But… why? Why would he heal the enemy? Especially when he hates us so much_ —

Tobirama’s words repeat in Madara’s head as he tries to decode the younger Senju’s sentence like a puzzle—and then Madara felt it. He felt the faint deep sadness in those cryptic words. Images of the Senju’s sad smile when he sees Izuna up and about flashes through the older Uchiha’s mind. _Was he regretting healing Izuna…?—No, Tobirama seems to be the type to never do something unless he is sure of its success… So, what could… Wait…!_ Madara replays the scene several times when he realizes that Tobirama’s crimson eyes don’t reflect the image of Izuna—no, it was something more distant… _It wasn’t Izuna Tobirama was looking at when he smiled. But who could it be…?_

Izuna’s groan snaps Madara out of his puzzlement over Tobirama’s behavior as his younger brother complains about being hungry. Madara, in the mood to spoil his little brother—most likely due to the near-death experience—decides he’ll push analyzing the interaction for later. Now, he had a hungry little Uchiha to spoil.

As Madara and Izuna stroll to the dining hall, Izuna continues to question Madara about the intruder. “Madara, just tell me already! Who was the one who healed me? I need to thank them!” Madara shrugs his little brother off in favor of ignoring the annoying chatter as Izuna banters on.

A statement caught Madara’s attention though. “You know, my savior’s chakra was really warm and soothing—nothing like the chakra we have here!” Madara quirks an eyebrow at this. _Tobirama’s—as in the cold-hearted soldier who has no emotions—chakra was… warm…?_

Madara would have imagined the silver-haired boy’s chakra to be more cold and harsh rather than “warm and soothing” as Izuna claims. But then again, Izuna has no need to lie about his experience.

“It was especially nothing like your raging, overly passionate chakra, nii-san! You should take a lesson or two about making your chakra that sweet—” Izuna earned himself a punch to the shoulder before Madara picks him up like a sack of potatoes and continues to the dining hall.

Izuna fights and hits Madara’s back as he is carried roughly, against his will, to the dining hall. Madara shakes his head at the boy’s antics.

His little brother needed to learn a thing or two—not the other way around!

Plus, Madara would rather deal with a bipolar Hashirama than to get lessons from the infamous cold-hearted Senju Tobirama about how to be gentle.

 

“Come on, nii-san!” Izuna whines from beside Madara.

Madara is currently doing his duty as clan head, which means paperwork—tons and tons of paperwork. Madara hates paperwork: it is troublesome, headache-inducing, and definitely bad for one’s health. Therefore, having your chippy little brother who is still recovering from a mortal wound bother you as you have a headache from all of said paperwork just creates hordes of painful migraines—and you can’t even throw said little brother out the window since you don’t want to make him even more injured. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to squeeze some comfort in his weary mind, Madara growls. “Izuna, be quiet.”

Izuna pouts before he begins to sing. “Tell me already!~”

“Izuna, shut up.” Madara is not amused nor charmed by his little brother’s singing—in fact, it just practically through another ton onto his headache.

“I’m not going to stop annoying you until you tell me~” The younger Uchiha heir smirks like a fox as he proceeds to skip around the room.

“ **Izuna.** ” The raven-haired man growls as he almost crushes the pen in his hand.

Izuna scoots close to Madara, reluctantly drawing the older man’s attention. “Nii-san~” With a sly smirk, the smaller dark-haired boy brings his hand up to his older brother and pokes his back. Madara promptly ignores the action in favor of continuing the paperwork, which causes Izuna to pout at his lack of reaction. Then, like a child, Izuna’s mouth quirks up into a grin before he draws back his hand—and begins aggressively poking Madara’s back.

After about the thirtieth poke—honestly, no one knows how many it took—Madara snaps. “Stop it! It was that damn Senju, okay!?” Madara pushes his little brother away from him before turning back around to his paperwork. “Now, leave me alone!”

“ _‘Damn Senju’_?” Izuna raises an eyebrow at the phrasing. “But nii-san there are so many Senju—!” The younger Uchiha heir complains. However, he soon brings himself into a contemplation state—out loud. “Then again, the only one who would do something like this is the clan head, Hashirama…”

 _But it wasn’t—it was Tobirama._ “It wasn’t Hashirama.” Madara corrects him subconsciously.

“Then, who?” Izuna blinks out of confusion. _No one else in the Senju clan seems as stupid as to care for an enemy._

Madara answers, “It was Tobirama.” _Unbelievably so._

“Tobirama?!” Izuna jumps up to his feet and his obsidian eyes grow wide in astonishment. “As in _that_ **Tobirama**?!” The younger Uchiha takes a moment to imagine it—his equal rival, Tobirama, with all his stoic aloofness and brutal techniques—coming all the way to the Uchiha compound to save _him_ of all people. And it was from a wound _he_ had made in the first place—sure, they were at war—no, especially because they are at war. The thought was just impossible to comprehend. Thus, leads to Izuna giving his brother a look of disbelief as he inquires, “Are you sure you aren’t going blind yet?”

Madara’s obsidian eye twitches at the question in irritation. He was getting annoyed at Izuna’s persistence and it made the paperwork-doing even worse. _Well, there isn’t much harm in telling him—it’s not like I’ll be keeping it a secret for long… Plus, this could be a good way to convince people that peace is possible between us Uchiha and them Senju._ Surrendering, Madara states exasperatedly, “Izuna, there is only one albino I know who would be capable of healing you.”

It takes a few moments for the statement to sink into Izuna’s mind—but when it did, Izuna almost falls to the floor as he gasps. “My god… it really is _that_ **Tobirama** isn’t it.”

Madara grunts in response as he continues to sort through the paperwork. The two sit in silence for at least ten minutes after that—ten minutes in which Madara had called heaven. However, Izuna doesn’t let the conversation end quite at the revelation. “I guess that guy isn't as much of an asshole as I thought… Maybe the rest of the Senju are good too then.”

Madara nearly drops his stack of papers at Izuna’s statement. Hastily, he turns around, focusing all his attention on his little brother and questions if the figure beside him is really his little brother or if this was some sort of illusion—because Izuna has always loathed the Senjus. No matter how much Madara tried to convince him that the Uchiha and Senju could make peace, his little brother had always stubbornly shoved the idea away—never believing that the Senju could actually be good enough to keep their end of the deal.

Seeing his older brother’s reaction, Izuna elaborates. “I mean Tobirama has been a cold, unfeeling guy since we first crossed swords—I mean, even the way he fights is so heartless! It’s like he isn’t even feeling anything when he fights—almost as if he is just a soldier programmed to kill, you know?” Izuna explains, but though Madara is aware that the albino Senju is a skilled warrior who doesn’t hesitate to complete what he sets out to do, he didn’t know that Hashirama’s little brother fought that way. And for Izuna to highlight on how the Senju fought means that he has been pondering about the other boy’s fighting for a while at least. Madara felt a growing distaste in his mouth at the words Izuna used to describe Tobirama though. _‘A soldier programmed to kill’. It’s as if Tobirama was molded into an unfeeling murderer._ The thought made Madara shudder. _Hashirama would never allow his own little brother to be turned into something like that… right?_

Madara refocuses on Izuna as he continues his explanation. “So if someone like Tobirama who is the most cold and heartless bastard when fighting can come into enemy territory just to heal little-ol’-me—well, then… doesn’t that mean the rest of the Senjus are capable of the same thing—well, they would need his brilliance, I hate to admit it but he is a genius, to be able to pull off that kind of stunt… but if they could, they would!” Madara nods along, agreeing with his little brother’s logic.

“And…” Madara smirks knowing what his brother is going to say next.

Izuna grins like an excited fox. “I say let’s give that peace dream of yours a try!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? I'm not quite sure about my Tobirama still... I feel I might be getting off course... So please please PLEASE tell me what you think her character is and such! I want to see what you all, as viewers, see in her character! It will help me a lot!
> 
> Also, I am thinking of making up mangekyo abilities for Madara and Izuna... but I have no clue what! So if you have any ideas, I'm all ears! (Please help!!!)
> 
> Anyways, remember to send in scenario request and ocs! I am very grateful for all of you sending in ocs that you have put some thought into how I would implement them into the story! Thank you very much!
> 
> Please leave a kudos and comment before you leave~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Sorry for the late update!  
> Recently, I just started school again so my updating schedule will be wacky! But with me being in college now, I think I will have more free time to write than when I was in high school! :D
> 
> Anyways, I just want to thank you all for your suggestions and OCs and I can't wait to see more!
> 
> Currently, I am looking for suggestions on Madara's and Izuna's (possibly Hikaku's) mangekyo Sharingan abilities. I have a couple of ideas so far but nothing solid yet. So if you have any input, please comment!
> 
> So far my ideas:  
> For Madara, I am thinking of one of his abilities to be chakra absorption. I know it is a technique he has due to Hashirama's cells, but since this series is connected to Kakashi Chronicles, I am thinking of a good way to have Madara keep some of his abilities and stuff without having to rely on the tree. (Madara's & Izuna's abilities will be big for Kakashi Chronicles MAIN PLOT.)  
> Also, from fanfiction.net, No1guest has suggested a time stopping ability. Like he could stop time for a brief duration and do something and stuff. This would actually be good if it weren't so OP... Cause I mean, then it could make Madara seem like he teleports like Obito!  
> Another guest from fanfiction suggested that Madara's mangekyo could be forming a chakra weapon; however, I believe this is already covered with Susanoo... I think the idea is neat though!  
> For Izuna, I am thinking maybe something to do with feelings and emotions like how he could sense how warm Tobirama's chakra was when she was healing him. Or something along the lines of that. But, I also think he should have another ability as well or a different ability. I was also thinking of it being something more genjutsu related... but idk since Touka is already the genjutsu specialist... Plus, Sharingan eyes usually include the enhanced genjutsu casting abilities.  
> A guest from fanfiction has suggested that he have a teleportation ability (to match Tobirama's Flying Thunder God jutsu). However, I don't believe this is wise dynamic-wise. What do you guys think?
> 
> Anyways, besides all of that! Please send in scenarios and OCs, as well as, suggesting some abilities for our Uchiha stars! xD
> 
> Please enjoy!~

For the past five days, Touka has felt that something was off—

—like some sort of ominous shadow looms over the Senju estate, clouding her senses—

—but she can’t pin down the source.

Unable to stand the stuffy sense of foreboding in her, Touka decides to confront the Senju with the best senses and the only one who has likely noticed the weird air flowing through the estate—Tobirama.

The first place Touka checks for her albino cousin is with Hashirama as, more times than not, one could find the clan heir chiding her older brother, their clan head, to do his work when he is lazing off. Honestly, the bumbling idiot of a cousin cannot be trusted to do the work correctly without his responsible genius for a younger sister being there to hold his hand. The older Senju girl sighs at the thought. _At least Tobirama is here to keep Hashirama in line or else who knows how the Senju would survive! We could be doing gardening work or making flower crowns in a field with how Hashirama wants to do things._

Touka finds Hashirama in his office, doing some paperwork for once but there was no Tobirama in sight. Hashirama glances up from his stack of papers at his cousin’s presence and arches an eyebrow. Thinking he has found an excuse to escape the paper hell, the long-haired brunette instantly brightens as he jumps up to greet Touka.

Not caring about Hashirama’s mood change, Touka instantly shoots down his hope as she interrupts him. “Have you seen Tobirama?”

“Tobirama?” Hashirama furrows his eyebrows before bringing his hands to his chin. The Senju clan head’s expression twists as he thinks but comes up empty. Hashirama shakes his head, “No, haven’t seen him all day. In fact…” Hashirama rubs his chin now in thought. “I don’t think I’ve seen him for a while now…”

Touka blinks at this information. Now that the long-haired brunette points it out, she hasn’t seen Tobirama for a long time either. The genjutsu-specialist whacks her brain a bit to try and spit out the last time she had seen her younger cousin. The last time she could remember her was during the last scrimmage against the Uchiha when Tobirama had mortally wounded the younger Uchiha heir, causing them to flee—

—which was **five days** ago.

Suddenly, the icky feeling is back but this time it seems to sink even lower, almost as if it was trying to bleed into her insides and corrupt her. There was something about all of this that makes Touka feel antsy and the fact that it all connects to her beloved cousin makes Touka queasy.

Hastily, Touka rushes out of the room, leaving a confused and bewildered Hashirama behind. She rushes throughout the Senju estate, searching for Tobirama—first her laboratory, then the library, the training grounds, the dining hall, even the bathrooms! However, there was no sight, sound, or presence of Tobirama anywhere within the estate.

The last place Touka checks is Tobirama’s room. The dark-haired woman didn’t want to check her little cousin’s room as she does respect her favorite cousin’s personal space. However, this is an emergency and Touka will do whatever is necessary to locate Tobirama.

“Tobirama!” The dark-haired woman slams open the door of the albino genius’s room. As usual, the room is very clean with everything put in order and organized. However, several points in the room ring the warning bells in Touka’s head. The first thing Touka notices is the missing blue armor which is usually exhibited next to the closet. Then she notices the lack of many other things in the room, that Touka knew for sure were there before—the swords, the medical kit, some of the kunai and shuriken, and a chunk of Tobirama’s new seals were all missing. In addition, Tobirama’s bed was fixed neatly with everything tidy and clean, except the fact that it looks like it hasn’t been touched for _days_.

A sense of dread kicks in. Touka’s face pales as she gathers the details and examines them, only able to gather one conclusion.

Tobirama has run away from home.

Tobirama—the extremely loyal, logical smart aleck who has the lowest self-esteem in the world— _ran away_ from home.

Tobirama—the baby cousin who was robbed of her childhood and life as a girl but is preciously kind, gentle, and selfless to a fault— **ran away** from home—

—and no one has realized it until _now_ , **five days later**.

 _How could no one have not noticed for_ **_five days_ ** _?!_ Touka berates herself as she tries to wrap her mind around how she could not have noticed her younger cousin’s disappearance never mind her escape from the Senju estate. Tobirama was known to enjoy her personal space and does not tolerate people entering her laboratory or her room without permission. This is why most of the Senju in their generation and younger, even some of the adults, are all oblivious to the fact that Tobirama is a girl. She then realizes that the only two people who would care enough to look for the girl beyond for clan matters would be her and Hashirama, so it was natural that if the two of them didn’t notice, then no one else would.

 _Nevermind how_ **_I_ ** _couldn’t notice—_

Red, hot, burning rage begins to build inside of Touka. She loves her little cousin with all her heart, sure, but that doesn’t mean she is the one who Tobirama rather hang out with and be with for the matter. Hashirama is another case entirely. He is her older brother and she, his last younger sibling— **only** _little sister_. Touka storms out of Tobirama’s room.

 _—how could_ **_Hashirama_ ** _not notice?!_

 

Touka stalks into Hashirama’s office, forcing the door open with enough rage that it causes the long-haired buffoon to squawk. The tall, dark-haired woman stops furiously towards her esteemed clan head.

Sensing the danger, Hashirama quickly tries to flee on sight. This effort is in vain, however, because Touka catches her cousin by the collar and pulls him to face her. The Senju genjutsu-specialist is seething and Hashirama only hopes he is not the target of the rage.

“Hashirama…” The dark-haired woman’s hands tighten around the collar of Hashirama’s kimono. The usually idiotic brunette’s eyes widen slightly at the woman’s show of emotion on her face and the slight trembling he can feel through his kimono that shake him. “Did you know that Tobirama is not anywhere on the Senju estate?” Touka tries to calm herself enough to deliver her message to the idiot of a leader.

The long-haired brunette blinks at this information. Hashirama felt that the information wasn’t all too strange—after all, Tobirama always likes to be alone and so she always tries to dodge other people besides himself and Touka. However, the fact that Touka was bringing this up means _something_ —Hashirama just didn’t know _what_. “Are you sure he didn’t just go out to test a new jutsu or something?”

“No!” Touka fumes. Her grip on Hashirama’s clothes tightened even more, almost as if she were trying to tear the clothes just with her grasp. “Would going out ‘to test a new jutsu’ cause her to leave the whole estate with her necessities and leave her bed untouched for **five days**?!” Touka brings Hashirama up higher slightly so he can look her in the eye as she glares down into his widening brown orbs. “And don’t use masculine pronouns for her! You know very well that I know her gender! There is no need to hide it from me!”

The Senju clan head’s eyes are wide from shock. _Tobirama has been missing for five days…? But, how could I have not noticed this? Well… I have been a bit busy and I’ve been trying to hound myself with paperwork so I could forget… But… why…? Why would Tobirama leave—_

The scene of Hashirama and Tobirama’s fight flashes through the clan head’s mind.

Cold sweat drips down Hashirama’s neck. His body begins to tremble violently, shocking Touka into releasing him unceremoniously to the floor. Hashirama’s only support from falling face first into the floor is his hands which stretch out before him, catching him as he falls on to his knees. The long-haired brunette begins to mumble incoherent sentences which Touka tries to catch but fails, further irritating the dark-haired woman.

Frustrated by Hashirama’s constant muttering, Touka lifts her cousin up again and gives him a good shake as she growls. “You know something about why she left, don’t you?” She notices his expression of despair and guilt in a second. Able to connect the dots, Touka lets her mouth run on, furiously. “In fact—from that guilty face of yours—I would say that **you** are the reason she ran away, aren’t you?! What did _you_ **do** , Hashirama!?”

“I-I—” Hashirama’s breath hitches, “I didn’t mean it—Tobirama… No, no, no! I swear I didn’t mean it—” Tears flow down the brunette’s face as he snorts up snot. They distorted Hashirama’s already incoherent speech so much that Touka’s eyebrow is twitching, ready to blow a fuse. In his sniffling mess, Hashirama continues to lament. “I didn’t mean to put it in that way—”

“ **What** did you _do_?!” Touka finally snaps, sick of the circle of regret Hashirama was repeating.

“We had a fight…” The sobbing brunette finally confesses coherently enough to be understood. Slowly, Hashirama is calming down but this only causes the regret to surge even deeper. It was almost as if the feeling was choking him—not letting him breathe. As he was explaining the whole episode from the day of the fight with the Uchiha—the one where Tobirama had wounded Izuna—Touka listens silently, absorbing the experience and replaying it in her mind. Meanwhile, Hashirama was lost in his own thoughts, drowning out his own voice which retells the scene.

_Tobirama, I didn’t mean it—I didn’t mean to say that! I was just angry and frustrated since Madara wouldn’t accept my peace treaty offers and—And… and I ended up pushing you away… Why am I such an idiot?! Why—_

All of a sudden, Hashirama is flying across the room with an indent in his cheek. Touka has her fist out as she pants. Her clear anger seethes through the dark aura around her and her dark furious eyes.

“How **could** you…?” Hashirama recovers slowly from the punch, rubbing his aching cheek softly. Touka stomps over to the fallen Senju clan head and picks him up from the collar once again. “Tobirama is **your** _little sister_! How could you tell her to— **tell** ** _her_** **to** …!” The extremely furious woman shakes the limp brunette. “How could you tell her to **die**?!” Touka pulls her arm back, readying another punch. Hashirama squeezes his eyes shut, preparing himself for impact—but the hit never comes. “You know…” Furiously, she trembles as she lowers her fist raggedly. “I should really punch you some more and get some sense into you—but that isn’t going to bring Tobirama back!” The dark-haired woman drops Hashirama, letting him fall to the floor, causing him to release a small grunt. “Now hurry up and stop sulking! We need to find her and bring her back—even if we have to drag her kicking and screaming!”

“B-but…! Where would he—I mean, she—” Hashirama begins to pick himself up, but freezes. His toxic words playback in his mind like a broken record.

 _“Why did you have to do that, Tobirama?”_ —The words that started it all.

 _“You didn’t have to mortally injure Izuna! I know full well that you could’ve just knocked Madara’s little brother unconscious!”_ —The arrogant words from a man who has never fought his Uchiha counterpart in a life-or-death battle.

 _“Now Madara will never agree to the peace alliance! He will never agree now with Izuna dead—he won’t rest until Izuna is avenged and you know that!”_ —The self-centered words of a man who only looks in one direction and never looks in any other direction.

 _“Why, Tobirama?”_ —again, that same question which had a clear answer yet Tobirama did not utilize it. No… Hashirama hadn’t let her.

 _“Why couldn’t you show a little mercy to Izuna, just this once? And now Madara won’t even consider peace anymore, Tobirama! Do you know what you’ve done?!”_ —The accusing words of an older brother to his younger sibling, passing his failure on to the other.

 _“Just get out of my sight, Tobirama!”_ —The harsh poisonous words that now melt him.

Hashirama realizes where Tobirama has gone and what she is supposedly going to do.

The thought of it makes Hashirama’s stomach sink and twist until it’s queasy.

Meanwhile, Touka is about to storm out of Hashirama’s office, ready to just charge around the lands in search of her beloved cousin. Hashirama stops her before she can leave, though.

“Wait, Touka.” The esteemed clan head’s words jerk Touka back to face him. “I know where Tobirama is.”

The dark-haired woman’s dark eyes widen before she quickly shuffles towards her cousin. “Where?!” She slams her hands against Hashirama’s desk in demand for information.

Hashirama only shakes his head in reply.

“I’m going to write a letter to Madara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... ta dah! The Senju side of the story and a major debut for Touka! I hope I'm portraying her accurately...  
> Anyways, I still haven't mentioned where Tobirama is :)  
> Don't worry, it will come soon! But, where do you guys think Tobirama is during all of this?
> 
> Anyways, please suggest some abilities for Madara and Izuna's mangekyos! Also, please send in OCs and scenarios! I really have enjoyed the OCs that have been sent to me so far and I can't wait to give them their debuts!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys!
> 
> I guess I do have loads more time in college compared to when I was in high school! So, hopefully, I can keep a somewhat regular uploading schedule. It really just depends on my inspiration though!
> 
> I want to address the unhappiness with the last chapter with an explanation.
> 
> I know several of you are displeased with my decision to let Touka go on a rampage on Hashirama.
> 
> I understand what you all are trying to get at; however, I do have my reasons and logic for it.
> 
> For one thing, the arguement about how the setting is Feudal Japan is understandable.
> 
> However, Naruto's version is not the same as the whole feudalism concept with daimyos and samurais.
> 
> For one thing, clans in Naruto are family.
> 
> Before Hashirama is the clan head of the Senjus, he is the older brother of Tobirama and younger cousin of Touka. Plus, unlike the mostly business relationship between daimyos and samurai, ninjas have a different relationship. They are more tightly knit.
> 
> Touka was infurriated with Hashirama for a while. She never outright addressed how he viewed Tobirama, knowing full well that Hashirama saw Butsuma rather than Tobirama, and this made her angry but she never addresses it. In addition, about the arguements on how Touka is a hypocrite. Yeah, Touka is a hypocrite. So what? Humans are hypocritical, judgemental creatures and people can be as emotional as they want. Touka was in a position where she was very emotional and impulsive.
> 
> Hashirama is a pacifist. He especially does not want to fight with family. However, at that time, Hashirama was so in shock about the news of Tobirama that he did not react to Touka's rage. Touka on the other hand was expressing her frustration towards Hashirama that she had held back all this time. Touka's anger towards Hashirama referring Tobirama as a 'he' was more because of how she knows Hashirama sees Butsuma in Tobirama rather than actual Tobirama.
> 
> Also, I have never written that Tobirama told Hashirama to refer to her with masculine pronouns. Tobirama couldn't care less about which pronoun Hashirama uses. It is more Butsuma who refused to see Tobirama as a girl and therefore reprimanded Hashirama for referring to Tobirama as a girl.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for all of you who have given me some ideas for Madara's and Izuna's mangekyo abilities! I am leaning towards one idea for Madara's (thank you soul of a kitsune from Fanfiction!) but I still need help with Izuna's! So, please continue to feed me ideas if you have any!
> 
> Also, I am approaching the founding of Konoha so I really need some scenarios! Like stuff you would want to see from the group! Say for example: "I want to see Izuna acting like a lovesick puppy." or "I want to see a sleep-deprived Tobirama."! So, please send those in! And don't forget to send in those OCs
> 
> Enjoy~

A faint glow of green seeps out of her hands over the bandaged area around the younger man’s abdomen. It doesn’t take much effort for Tobirama to heal Izuna; however, healing of this scale was another story. The wound is deep—deeper than Tobirama had first thought. But that was no real trouble, after all, the girl had developed a new healing jutsu just for injuries like these—not that anyone beyond Touka knew of this. After the one incident from when they were young, Hashirama stayed far away from Tobirama’s jutsu creating.

Anyways, now Tobirama is utilizing her new jutsu—one that could act as a catalyst to increase the multiplication speed of the cells in one’s body. The jutsu takes concentration—not that that is much trouble for Tobirama as she has immense amount of it—the problem is that it takes a lot of chakra.

“ **Izuna!** ” A loud bang behind the silver-haired girl startles her but she doesn’t waver from her task—she has to hurry and heal Izuna—to fix what she has done.

“Who are you?! Get away from my little brother!” The sounds of angry stampeding footsteps rush toward the girl as she tries to speed up her healing by pushing out more chakra. However, after the man’s second step, Tobirama quickly side steps away from her rival and tries to flee. She hoped that her last minute escape attempt would have worked—but with Madara being the one chasing her, she knew there was only a slim chance that she would actually succeed.

Just as she had predicted, Madara harshly grasps her wrist, ultimately locking her in place. Tobirama is displeased with her reaction to jolt at the sudden grip, causing her to grimace slightly before returning her expression to neutral. Her heart was beating hard against her chest as she is pulled towards the moonlight.

Those cursed red and black eyes widen when Madara recognizes Tobirama. The rage Tobirama had identified in the wild-haired man’s eyes flickers slightly—not enough for most to notice but enough for Tobirama to notice. Tobirama notes the way Madara’s Sharingans scan her body and she resists the shiver that runs in her spine. The silver-haired girl then realizes she is wearing very form-fitting clothing.

She had originally not worn the armor as a way to show she came in peace; however, this may backfire now.

Madara could most likely see that she does not have a man’s body.

In the back of her mind, Tobirama holds onto the hope that Madara was more like her idiotic brother than she thought and would not notice her figure or at least wouldn’t connect the dots. Though Tobirama did not care whether her gender was revealed, she’d rather not deal with the troubles the revelation would cause.

Thankfully, it seems that Madara either overlooked the details or is in too much of a rage to address them. “ **_You_ ** ,” The dark-haired man growls. At this moment, most would be trembling in fear —but not Tobirama. Tobirama is a hardened soldier, molded not to react to interrogation and intimidation, and therefore, has what Hashirama likes to call ‘a boring expression’—or in other words, a poker face. Briefly, Tobirama wonders if her expression irks Madara from the way his grip tightens around her wrist. _My wrist is most likely going to bruise._ “What do you think you are doing to Izuna!?”

 _What am I doing?_ Tobirama was so close—so close to fixing a tiny piece of her wrong doings—yet Madara had to come in and stop her. She has to do this though—it’s the only way. “I’m fixing what I’ve done.” She lets those simple words slip out cryptically, confusing the older man who holds her. Tobirama doesn’t care to elaborate though, those words were never meant for the Uchiha clan head—they were words meant for her.

The rise of Madara’s eyebrow signals his bewilderment, Tobirama faintly notes. The albino girl tucks the onservation aside when the older man growls. “What did you do to Izuna?”

 _Save his life._ Tobirama is about to answer, her lips parting to conjure up an explanation—to only be interrupted by coughing. Quickly reacting, Tobirama turns her attention towards the casket she had just been next to, watching as the dark-haired figure rises from it. Similarly, Madara reacts to his younger brother as well, releasing the silver-haired girl’s hand in favor of focusing on his younger brother. “Izuna!”

In that instant, Tobirama hastily flees Madara’s range. Tobirama glances at Izuna, feeling a slight relief that her jutsu had worked and that the boy was alive enough to move—surely that would be enough.

This way Madara wouldn’t be furious that his beloved younger brother had been murdered by his ex-best friend’s own younger sibling.

This way Madara will agree with Hashirama’s peace.

This way Hashirama will have the peace he has always dreamed about.

This way Hashirama will look at her and _see_ **her** again.

 _This is enough right… Anija? This is what you wanted, right?_ The girl’s lips gently lift up as she imagines her older brother standing before her with his usual bright grin. It was at this same moment that Madara’s attention twirls back on her. However, the older man is too late—Tobirama uses her Flying Lightning God technique in the next second—teleporting to the farthest seal away from from the Uchiha estate—away from Madara—and away from the Senju estate—away from Hashirama.

She needs to let some things play out without her.

 

Tobirama wakes up in a forest.

The silver-haired girl had fainted after teleporting out of the Uchiha estate—from chakra-exhaustion the girl theorizes. She must have used too much chakra with the fatigue she already had from the battle earlier that day plus the space-time jutsu in and out of the Uchiha estate and the healing she had done to Izuna. Now, Tobirama is left in a forest—with no idea on where she is and what day it is. However, the girl could roughly estimate the hour due to the sun’s position in the sky—it was 1 p.m. and Tobirama is stranded in a forest with no clue where she is.

The silver-haired girl wasn’t exactly stranded. She could very well use her Flying Thunder God technique to distort space and time back to her room if she wanted. However, that would defeat the purpose of her leaving. She did need to return though, and the time it would take to travel back to the Senju estate should be more than enough time for everything to cool down and hopefully a peace treaty would be ready for her when she returned. Not that she was very hopeful about it.

Despite what she has done, there is no guarantee that Madara would push the idea of a treaty any more than he already has to his clan. However, she believes in the wild-haired man’s character. The man is resourceful—something that Tobirama wishes her own brother was yet he isn’t and she praises the Uchiha clan head for his quick-wit that he exhibits in the battlefield despite being his enemy. Uchiha Madara is a very passionate and intelligent man—this is something Tobirama had discovered from observing the man—and Tobirama believes he would not hesitate to take hold of any opportunity given to him if he could achieve his goals without many consequences. If they weren’t on opposite sides, Tobirama supposes the man would be one of the greatest assets and someone who she could discuss more sophisticated concepts with since both Hashirama and Touka have no interest in expanding their knowledge like Tobirama does.

That is a thought the girl pushes aside—perhaps an idea to ponder more about once Hashirama’s peace is truly achieved and the raging man can actually stand being in the same room with her. Not that they have been in the same room besides on the battlefield or when she was caught by him earlier, but Tobirama had a feeling that the man’s stubborn and cautious nature wouldn’t let him forget the threat in Tobirama. She supposes that she wouldn’t be able to get over the lingering skepticism that comes with war either—at least not immediately.

Tobirama stretches her tingling limbs, letting herself bathe in the soft sunlight for a moment. She then closes her eyes and extends her senses, searching the area with her chakra sense and her ears. Finding what she is looking for, Tobirama parkours through the trees stealthily towards her goal.

The silver-haired girl finds herself at a shallow river within a couple of minutes. Carefully, she cups her hands together to pick up some water. She sniffs it first checking for any suspicious odor signs, before taking a small sip. The water is heavenly to her dry throat and so far, doesn’t have a hint of anything weird. Tobirama drinks some more water from the river, successfully quenching her thirst. Tobirama notices the dark shadows swimming through the river and her stomach was feeling quite empty at the moment. She concludes, that it is time for a late lunch and she is in the mood for some fish—the rations she had packed can be eaten later when there wasn’t any tastier options around.

After enjoying her lunch of grilled river fish, Tobirama decides to set up camp next to the river. She returns to the forest in order to gather more firewood that she would need for the night before returning to her spot next to the river. Thankfully, the hot mid-summer air would keep the girl warm during the night, so there was no need for a fire beyond cooking. Tobirama was hoping to find some herbs or wild plants to eat, wishing to at least have a healthy diet beyond the abundance of fish. However, sadly, there was no such luck unless the girl wanted to munch on grass or leaves.

Tobirama lifts her hand to shadow her eyes from the sun as she checks its position. Only two hours have passed since she has had her lunch and now Tobirama was irritably bored. There was nothing much for her to do in a forest who-knows-where. She has a guess that she wasn’t too far from home, seeing as her seal was in the forest and she could only faintly sense Hashirama’s immense chakra from here.

_Anija…_

The albino girl strides over to the tree which her sword leans against and picks it up. She then proceeds to unsheathe it and begin to swing it, deciding to train. As she swings down her blade again and again, Tobirama’s mind wanders.

_Anija…_

The image of Hashirama, standing bright and confident with his signature goofy grin, passes through her mind.

_Did you notice I am not beside you?_

_Have you searched for me even once during my absence?_

_Then again—you probably have not after our last conversation._

_You wouldn’t want to see me yet._

_You always wait for me to come to you._

_Touka…_

The dark-haired woman giving him a small cheeky smile flashes past her.

_She will probably be infuriated by my leave.—most likely enough to injure me._

The thoughts of family leads Tobirama to think of the Uchiha siblings, Madara and Izuna. They were similar to her and Hashirama, yet they were so different—those two were close, like best friends. Meanwhile, Hashirama and her were distant yet no-doubtedly love each other. Faintly Tobirama wonders if during Hashirama’s supposed peace, she could become as close as Izuna is with Madara with her own older brother.

She then puzzles at the thought of that ‘peace’.

In all truth, Tobirama could never picture peace quite like Hashirama did.

While his peace was whole and idealistic like a fantasy, hers was more realistic—her version of peace was the lack of fighting. There would be no more reason for children to join the battlefield and they could just carry on their innocence with bright smiles and happy laughter. It is a soothing image of peace.

A peace she swears to accomplish.

Tobirama lowers her sword, finding that she has trained enough for one day. Sweat covers her neck and back, showing that she has had a long enough work out. She lifts her crimson eyes towards the sky, catching sight of the blue fading into a bright orange hue as the sun began to drip down into the horizon.

Another day is about to end—

—yet Tobirama had no clue where exactly she is or what day it is—

—all she knew is what time it is.

It’s time for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for this chapter I did a sort of Tobirama POV and some Tobirama centric stuff! What do you guys think?  
> Also, what do you guys predict will happen next?
> 
> Anyways, please send scenario requests, OCs, and some ideas for Madara's and Izuna's mangekyo abilities!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh! I was able to update really soon on this one! XD  
> This chapter will be introducing an OC; however, this doesn't mean a bunch of OCs will start overpopulating the story! So, don't worry!
> 
> I am still pondering on Madara's and Izuna's abilities! So any suggestions are fair game!
> 
> Also, OCs are still open! I don't know how many exactly I need, so, for now, I will just be keeping this open until I decide that I am getting repeats or that I have more than enough! :D
> 
> ANYWAYS! I am in need for scenario requests regarding Founding Konoha and post-founding Konoha! I need at least like 4-8(?) story years worth of content! So expect a long story (I am so far estimating that it will take 4-8 years of story content before all the characters are well-developed enough to end the story...)
> 
> Enjoy!~

Tobirama runs her fingers along the stone’s smooth surface. 

It and the river in front of her reminded her of her brother. As a child, Hashirama loved to skip rocks and was great at it. When he and she were kids and Itama and Kawarama were both alive, the four siblings would often go to the river to compete in stone-skipping. Hashirama was always the best at it and Tobirama the worst—or at least that’s what she eluded him to think. 

She readies the stone, bending her wrist only slightly as her crimson eyes narrow on to the shadows swimming through the river.

Itama and Kawarama both knew the truth but they never said anything to their older brother.

With precision and a flick of the wrist, the silver-haired girl releases the stone, targeting those shadows in the stream. The shadows jump out of the river in fright from the sudden projectile.

Tobirama was better than Hashirama at stone-skipping.

The silver-haired girl just always lets Hashirama win whenever they competed. After all, at the time, Tobirama was hailed a genius and father’s perfect child even though Hashirama was inevitably the clan heir. The three younger siblings understood Hashirama’s lack of self-esteem at that time which was derived from having a genius younger sister who stole all of the attention. Even Itama and Kawarama experienced this, however, the two knew they were loved from all the attention their sister and older brother gave them. In addition, they sometimes enjoyed the freedom they were given since Tobirama took the brunt of Butsuma’s spartan training for elite soldiers and Hashirama the extreme training for clan heirs.

Well, sometimes there were some facts better not known—especially in Hashirama’s case.

By the time the stone touched the other shore, Tobirama had successfully stabbed four fishes with a quick draw of her katana. The silver-haired girl, now with four dead fishes in tow, returns to her camp. It was when she reaches her camp that she notices the two chakra signatures she had noticed a few minutes prior were now next to her camp. However, they were stationary and evidently trying to diminish their chakra—ninjas.  _ Wait, one of them is a bit smaller than the other…. A ninja and his familiar…?  _

Tobirama doesn’t shift her stance much since she was already quite cautious. Instead of confronting the ninja and his familiar, the genius opts to observe from her position as she continues to make her dinner. She was not going to stop her dinner plans just for some intruder. Plus, even if it was a passing ninja and his ninja pet, with how far she is from Senju and Uchiha territory, the ninja will most likely opt to caution as well and not attack without even realizing she is a Senju. After all, they don’t know the power level of the enemy and it is a much wiser move to observe your target and report back to your head of the clan than to take action. And if she absolutely needed to escape, Tobirama could always use her Flying Thunder God technique to the next seal.

The silver-haired girl swiftly uses long and thin tree branches as skewers to stab through her fish before she places them next to her burning fire, wedging them in between some stones to keep them still. She leaves the fish to slowly roast against the campfire as she gives her surroundings a quick once-over. Locating the ninja and his pet doesn’t take much effort—after all, they aren’t hiding well enough for her senses to miss them. However, they did seem skilled. Judging from the slight shadows, the pet was very large and most likely mammal. Tobirama faintly hopes that the two did not decide to attack her since she will absolutely defend herself—and most likely end up killing them—even the animal. She would be saddened if she had to kill the animal. Secretly, Tobirama has always had a soft spot for animals; however, many didn’t know this beyond Touka and Hashirama. Her father hadn’t forbidden it; however, Tobirama is not confident enough to watch out for her summon as well as her clan in a battle against the Uchihas. She already had her hands full enough with Izuna, the sneaky opportunist, and they always fought with their lives on the line, unlike Hashirama and Madara.

Tobirama lets her mind wander for the next forty minutes, even if she was paying attention to both her cooking dinner and the possible enemy behind her. The aroma of deliciousness is what snaps her out of her thoughts. Carefully, the girl checks all of the fishes for their condition. Finding that they were all very well roasted, The girl retrieves the skewers and places them so the ends were on top of two rocks and the fish was dangling on the skewer in the air. Tobirama sits on a rock in front of her dinner so that she is facing both it and where the ninja and the ninja pet are. 

Tobirama picks up one skewer with a particularly beautifully roasted fish and sinks her teeth into the crunchy skin. She begins to slowly devour her fish, giving a show to her supposed enemy—exhibiting the fish’s deliciousness through its aroma, sound, and appearance.

Two long and loud growls erupt from the bushes across from Tobirama. The sound was something akin to a particularly brutal storm with lightning striking through the sky every second. 

Tobirama releases an exasperated sigh, “Come out.” She narrows her scarlet eyes on the hiding place of her two observers. “I know you two are there.” Tobirama puts down her unfinished fish before picking up two different skewers of fish, holding them out towards the bush. “Here, you can have some. This is too much for me to eat.” As if reacting to those words, suddenly, two shadows jump out of the bushes—a woman and a dog. Immediately, they dive for the fish in Tobirama’s hands. However, the silver-haired woman deprives them of the treat and raises her arms high in the air, putting the scrumptious meal far enough away from the woman and the dog that they could not steal it from her. 

“Sit.” The albino commands. Obediently, the two sit down. Tobirama smiles slightly at this, chuckling softly at their behavior before she gives them the fish. “Good.”

Once given the fish, the two figures immediately begin to devour the roasted fish almost animalistic-ly as if they were starving and have found food after a long time. Then again, one of them was an actual dog. Tobirama takes this moment to examine her two observers. The first thing she notices is the red fang-shaped clan marks along the girl’s cheeks. They were the distinct marks of the Inuzuka clan—a clan of ninja who is known to use ninja dogs. 

The young woman is an Inuzuka kunoichi—that explains her ninja dog.

The next thing Tobirama notices is the girl’s hair. She had curly brown hair that frankly was a wild mess. Her eyes are big and dark brown and she wears a light brown fur trimmed black jacket with a netted shirt underneath and some cargo pants. Her dog, on the other hand, seemed to be a German shepherd—or at least that’s what Tobirama could gather from her knowledge on canines. The dog had huge ears and sparkly brown eyes as it continues to devour the fish. Its fur is a mix of brown and black as well as long and smooth-looking. Tobirama is tempted to pet the dog; however, she felt it may be taken as offensive or rude so doesn’t. 

Tobirama picks up her unfinished fish and begins to eat it, now even more hungry from the exhibition of the appetites of her two unexpected ‘guests’ of sorts. She isn’t able to take more than two bites before she hears some whining beside her. Crimson eyes focus on the two beside her who are drooling over the last fish. The fish bones and stick skewers lay on the ground behind them hazardously. “Go ahead.” Tobirama only gives a curt nod before she returns to eating her dinner, allowing the girl and the dog to fight over the last fish. 

It doesn’t take long for the two to just split the fish in half, each getting their own fair share of fish. Tobirama fishes just before the girl and dog do. 

“Thank you for the food!” The curly-haired Inuzuka woman flashes a smile and her dog companion rubs its face against Tobirama’s leg. “You aren’t from this part of the forest, huh. I’m Inuzuka Yuzuki and this is Momomaru!” Yuzuki gestures towards her dog who barks in response. “What’s your name?”

Tobirama wasn’t expecting such friendliness from a fellow ninja. Living in this war-stricken time has put many on the edge, Tobirama included, so it was unusual for ninja to show even a single bit of kindness to another ninja, especially if you don’t know what clan they are from. However, no matter how skeptical she is, it is only polite to return an introduction with another introduction. “I’m—” It was at that moment that Tobirama sensed it.

All of a sudden, a figure jumps out of the forest, charging at the two girls. The man is armed with a katana and a kunai before he swiftly aims it at the two girls and the dog. However, seeing it coming, the two girls quickly dodge it and the dog charges at the figure. With a fierce blow, Momomaru detains the man.

“Nice, Momomaru!” Yuzuki cheers as she jogs over to her partner, ninja wire in hand. It doesn’t take long after that before the man is extremely tied up in ninja wire, enough that if he tries to move a muscle, the wire would cut into his skin. Tobirama takes note of the knot Yuzuki made with the wire, noting how it was different than the ones the Senjus made. She briefly wonders if the Uchiha have their own way of tying knots as well and maybe how knot-tying methods probably vary from clan to clan.

Yuzuki twirls around back to Tobirama, snapping the albino out of her thoughts. “Sorry about that! It’s my mission to go round up these stupid rogues! So, I was originally watching you, thinking you were one of these pests!” She tugs the man up as she says her last sentence. After realizing that she had accused the other girl of looking like a rogue, the curly-haired woman quickly waves her hands around frantically. “I realized you weren’t from your behavior, though!” Momomaru barks at her, as if reminding her of something—probably is by the way Yuzuki responds. “I know! I know! Now I’ve got to hurry and drop off this junk back to my clan head…” Yuzuki pouts, however, a bark from Momomaru quickly snaps the girl to recover. “See ya around!” The curly-haired girl waves to Tobirama before she quickly leaves, her loyal ninja dog finally behind her.

Tobirama blinks as she watches Yuzuki leave. She still hasn’t introduced herself and the other girl had talked so much that she had no room to input anything. However, Tobirama pushes those thoughts away in favor of analyzing the Inuzuka’s wording.

_ “It’s my mission to go round up these stupid rogues! So, I was originally watching you, thinking you were one of these pests!” _

The word ‘pests’ is what Tobirama lingers on when the revelation hits her—multiple enemies.

Tobirama remembers the friendly smile Yuzuki had flashed her when she thanks her for the food. She remembers the feel of Momomaru’s soft fur against her thigh and the dog’s cool, wet nose. She remembers the small warmth she felt having company again.

Tobirama closes her scarlet eyes and focuses. She then dashes on, parkouring through the trees at a rapid pace with her sheathed katana in hand. 

It doesn’t take long for the albino girl to find them—surrounded by a group of six rogues, with the one that had originally been tied up amongst them, judging by the cut wire abandoned on the ground. They charge at Yuzuki and Momomaru who are obviously too outnumbered to be able to make any real damage.

In a flash, Tobirama jumps amongst them on the battlefield. With grace and beauty that is only complimented by the gradient sky of indigo, pink and orange, Tobirama dances through the enemies—cutting down each and every one of them in a matter of minutes.

When all of them have fallen in a disorderly fashion on the floor, Tobirama takes her sword and splatters the blood off of it with the flick of a wrist. Yuzuki blinks at the sight alongside Momomaru.

The albino practically began to glow under the darkness of the impending nightfall. Her sharp crimson eyes have their own eerie shine to it as her body begins to illuminate under the dark sky. The sight was as beautiful as it was frightening.

“Senju… Tobirama…”

The recognition was inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it?  
> What do you guys think of Yuzuki? And Momomaru? (Though you don't see very much for now).
> 
> Anyways, please send in some ideas for Madara's and Izuna's mangekyo! Also, OCs are still welcome! And don't forget the most important thing--scenarios!
> 
> Please leave a kudos and comment before you leave!~


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 8!
> 
> Thank you so much for all your help with Madara's and Izuna's mangekyo ideas! So far, I have pretty much decided on Madara's ability; however, Izuna's ability is still open! I hope to figure out an ability that aren't the usual techniques we all think about with the mangekyo (Amaterasu, Izanami, Izanagi, Tsukuyomi, etc.) So if you have any other ideas, please tell me!
> 
> Also, thanks for all of the OCs that have been sent! They are all very wonderful! The OC box is still open so feel free to drop them in!~
> 
> Anyways, here is the big one... I am in a real need for scenarios! Like just fun scenarios that you guys would want to see (that isn't TOO mature that I would have to change my rating)! Maybe something like (ex): "Show me Madara getting embarrassed!" or "Tobirama doing **insert something here**".
> 
> Please enjoy!~

Madara receives a letter from Hashirama a week after the incident with Tobirama.

The whole event on how he received the letter was rather funny.

Izuna had rushed over to Madara’s office, letter in hand. He was noticeably clumsy in his little rush, flustered at something that Madara most likely wanted no part of. However, no matter how peculiar his little brother’s behavior was, the wild-haired man paid no mind to it—even if he did notice the lingering starstruck look in the younger’s eyes.

Yeah, Madara wants no part in  _that_.

The Uchiha clan head tucks his thumb under the slight opening of the letter flap, feeling the rough parchment before he carefully rips the flap from its sealed place against the rest of the envelope. Izuna continues to float on the clouds in his mind as Madara pulls out the letter inside the envelope, opening it, and scanning its contents. The words on the page were written in the familiar chicken scratch swirls—that is Hashirama’s handwriting. However, Madara has had experience reading the almost illegible print and is almost proud to say he is a master at the art—the key word is _almost_.

There was no real pride in being able to decipher Hashirama’s handwriting—the pity on the bumbling buffoon being unable to write legibly is too severe especially when they are at their prime ages of 23 turning 24.

Madara shakes his head and frowns at the thought.

Izuna, who has finally snapped out of his blissful daze from earlier, leans over Madara’s shoulder and takes one look at the letter before he grimaces at it. “What the heck is that?!” He pulls the letter a bit to get a better look at the words. “How can we even read this? I don’t think even our Sharingan can decipher it!”

Madara pushes Izuna off of him and snatches the letter back from his little brother. “For your information, I don’t need to activate my Sharingan to read this.”

The look of astonishment and bewilderment on Izuna’s face twists into a curious glint in his obsidian eyes. “Oh?” With a smug smirk, the younger Uchiha raises an eyebrow at his older brother. “Then, what does it say?”

“If you want to know, then be quiet and let me read it.” Madara snarls as he playfully flicks his brother’s forehead. Izuna groans at the surge of pain inflicted on his forehead and spends the next few minutes rubbing the wound. He curses Madara for being the older sibling under his breath but Madara ignores him in favor of reading the letter out loud for Izuna to hear. “Dear Madara—my bestest best friend in the whole wide world—”

“Is he a little kid?” Izuna shrills in disbelief.

“Shush.” The older Uchiha quickly retorts before he continues to read. “How are you doing? I am having some trouble right now…” An unpleasant feeling sinks in Madara’s gut—he doesn’t like where this letter is going. “You see, a few days ago, I discovered…” Madara’s voice trails on, the sound of it disappearing as he translates the words from the paper.

Izuna becomes restless by the sudden silence. Madara had cut off his translating right when he was going to reveal whatever the Senju head had discovered. He lets Madara have his silence for a good long minute before he grows too agitated to stand the suspense any longer. “What did he discover? Come on, Nii-san! Don’t just leave me hanging!”

“Be quiet, Izuna, or it’s a trip in the koi pond for you.” Madara’s obsidian eyes were wide as he scans the words on the paper as he releases the growl. Despite this, Madara does finish reading the letter out loud so that Izuna doesn’t complain and interrupt him as he is processing the information. “A few days ago, I discovered that my younger brother—Tobirama—has disappeared from the Senju Estate with no hint of any intention to return… Please, Madara, if you have seen or heard anything about Tobirama please, please, please you have to tell me. I will be waiting by the river where we used to meet. From your extremely worried best friend, Hashirama…”

The two Uchiha siblings share a moment of silence as they devour the words from the letter and their meaning. The two don’t dare to speak as if there was some sort of silence rule in place.

Izuna is the first to break this rule. His obsidian eyes were wide in shock as he mutters, “Hey… doesn’t this mean that after Tobirama healed me he…!” Even the younger Uchiha who had hated the Senju so much was in disbelief and full of concern for his rival. “But where could he go? The whole country is at war! Is he crazy?!”

Madara’s eyebrows furrow at the thought of the younger Senju—Hashirama’s little brother. The younger man had just appeared out of nowhere—in the middle of enemy territory—to do what? Assassinate someone? Raid the compound? No—he came to heal Izuna—his rival and Madara’s little brother.

 _Was he really just doing a suicide attempt of ‘fixing things’?_ Yet, on that night, even though Madara had caught him, Tobirama still chose to escape rather than to surrender when he had a chance—even though all he wore was a thin summer yukata and no armor. One cannot call that sort of act a suicide—if it was, then Tobirama would have surrendered and let Madara have his way with him. Even Madara knew what he would have done to the younger boy in his rage if Izuna had not chosen that moment to make his condition clear. The thought irked Madara but he could not deny that he would have avenged his little brother in some way—whether it was capturing the silver-haired Senju, torturing him with nightmares, harming him, or even killing him if he was in the right or wrong emotion-set.

“He’s crazy alright.” The grip the older Uchiha sibling has on the paper causes it to crumple as his expression takes a grim tone. “Maybe even crazier than his stupid older brother.” With a harsh chuckle, Madara truly crumples the parchment into a messy ball and tosses it to Izuna who catches it without any effort. “Burn that,” Madara orders his younger brother as he travels around the room, tidying it up a bit as he gathers a couple of items. It only takes him a couple of minutes to finish his tasks and begins to exit the room.

“Nii-san,” Izuna stares into Madara’s eyes as he speaks in a serious tone. “What are you going to do now?”

Madara blinks at his younger brother. His lips twitch up into a cheeky smirk, “I’m going to go teach a stupid older brother how to be a better older brother.”

The two brothers continue their little staring game, each not wanting to be the first to look away. Well, at least until the younger brother averts his eyes as he mumbles, “Not that you are a better example, Nii-san.”

A vein pops from Madara’s head as his dark eyebrows twitch. The Uchiha clan head reaches for his little brother and drags him to the window.

**Splash!**

That afternoon, Izuna ended up having a _pleasant_ chat with the koi in the koi pond.

 

When Madara reaches his and Hashirama’s old hang out, the first thing the Uchiha notices is the stifled sobbing. It reminds Madara of that time when he found Hashirama crying by the river—it was when Hashirama’s youngest brother died, leaving him with only Tobirama left. Speaking of which… Hashirama had mentioned something about Tobirama that day as well—

_Hashirama had just spilled out his guts on his youngest brother’s death and Madara was trying to comfort the other boy, though that was difficult if you have the social graces of the grumpy Uchiha boy. The bowl-haired boy continued to sob and sniffle as he confesses his inner-most concerns and stresses to his best friend._

_Madara patiently listens._

—That’s right. Hashirama had ranted on how Tobirama was growing more and more cruel—growing more and more like their father. He had said he had been terrified—that sometimes he saw Senju Butsuma in Tobirama’s place. _Does he still see that?_

Madara didn’t really know their father, Senju Butsuma—but from his little interaction with the man, Madara knew that he was a man of war. Unfortunately, this affected his children just like how Uchiha Tajima had affected Madara and his little brothers—they were turned into soldiers, whose only purpose was made to be to fight and die on the unending battlefield.

A scowl lingers on Madara’s face as he makes his way to the sulking figure of Hashirama. The raven-haired man tries to force the thoughts back and instead focuses on Hashirama and his crying. “Oi.” Madara stands next to Hashirama now as the brunette continues to sob. Madara releases an exasperated sigh, “This is how you are going to greet me? I might as well go home—”

Suddenly, the brunette’s head turns towards the dark-haired man. Madara jolts at the sudden action but his reaction quickly contorts to a deadpan face when he sees Hashirama’s tear- and snot-dripping face. “Madaaraa…!” The long-haired brunette swiftly rises to his feet before jumping the raven-haired man. The wild-haired man is tackled into the ground, the rocky floor making his back uncomfortable. Hashirama digs his face into Madara’s shoulder, muffling his sobs as well as ultimately wiping his snot all over the other man’s clothes.

“Get off of me, you buffoon!” Agitated, the dark-haired man tries to push the brunette away; however, fails due to the fact that the other man is holding him in some sort of vice grip. To make the whole situation worse, Madara’s resistance seems to have instigated Hashirama to further wipe his tears and snot along Madara’s yukata. The Uchiha clan head makes a note to burn the cloth when he gets home since it seems the snot may stain the fine blue material permanently—

—and Madara really liked this one too.

The final straw was when Hashirama started blowing his nose into Madara’s shoulder. The dark-haired man snaps after the first sound, throwing his best friend off of him. “That’s enough!” Madara looms over Hashirama, who is splattered on the ground. The Uchiha’s dark eyes meet Hashirama’s own brown eyes. “Before I start talking, I think you need to start fessing up and get that crying out of your system. I don’t want to repeat what I say over and over again when you aren’t listening.” Madara extends a hand to his old friend, “Now get up and start talking.”

Hashirama blinks at his friend’s hand and doesn’t hesitate for more than a second to take it. Madara helps the long-haired brunette back to his feet before crossing his arms to listen to the man’s story. Hashirama confesses about everything—the argument he had with Tobirama after the scrimmage, finding out that Tobirama was missing, his cousin’s outrage at it. The events of the last week have been plaguing the poor Senju’s mind as if haunting him and he now finally lets them loose. Madara has that effect on him—somehow confiding in the other man seemed to help whenever he was coping with something stressful—whether it was his little brothers’ deaths, the war, or Tobirama running away from home.

Even though Madara listens patiently to his friend, waiting for him to finish, he couldn’t help the bubbling anger and astonishment inside of him. Hashirama is a great man—naive and idealistic even in this time of war, bloodshed, and animosity. However, no matter how pure Hashirama is as a person, that does not affect Hashirama the older brother. As a fellow older brother, Madara could not look at Hashirama and say that he is a good older brother—not after what he put his own younger brother through—

—not after he pushed his own little brother away, blaming him for everything that had gone wrong.

 _Guess I am a better older brother, Izuna._ A slight snicker passes through Madara’s mind at the thought of proving his little brother wrong. The passionate man’s mind then wanders to the other little brother in question. The younger man’s sad smile burned into his mind through his Sharingan. _I guess this will be my thanks to you, Tobirama…_ The image of the younger Senju from that night lingers in his mind. _I’m going to go teach your stupid buffoon of an older brother how to be a better older brother._

Hashirama, now finished with his story, pulls Madara’s attention back to him by grabbing the dark-haired man’s shoulders and giving him a good shake. “Please, Madara! Tell me! Have you seen Tobirama, at all?!” Swiftly, the Uchiha clan head grasps Hashirama’s wrist, preventing the long-haired brunette from shaking him anymore. A short gasp escapes the brunette’s lips, “Eh? Madara—?”

**SPLASH!**

That afternoon, Hashirama ended up having a _pleasant_ swim alongside the fishes in the river.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope my writing is okay...  
> I'm trying to keep my story as original as possible, so even though I wanted Madara to throw a rock at Hashirama, he threw him into the river instead...
> 
> Anyways, please send in ideas for Izuna's Mangekyo ability, OCs, and scenarios!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!~
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Sorry for the late update!  
> You see, I went to an anime convention during my three day weekend and afterwards had to catch up on my homework. :(  
> Usually, math classes are so easy for me but this math teacher is horrible at teaching! And I don't even have the actual textbook so it is a bit hard for me to even self-study! Stupid college trying to milk out all our cash!  
> Anyways, enough of my rant. I'm catching up now so, hopefully, there won't be any more of this problem in the future! 
> 
> Okay! So, the usual requests! Thank you for your suggestions on Izuna's mangekyo ability! Unfortunately, I still have not found one that suits the Izuna I would like to create... :( However, your suggestions are much appreciated! So, please keep sending them!  
> Also, OCs are still open! As you will see in this chapter--someone's OC debuts!   
> In addition to the OCs, I also am accepting scenario requests! So please send those in! They will be vital once the plot settles down!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the show!~

“I thought you went out to talk to Madara, not go out for a swim.” Touka leans against the door frame to Hashirama’s room, her arms crossed and a smirk full of amusement spread across her face.

Hashirama glowers at the older woman as he tries to dry himself off with a towel. “Madara decided I needed to clean my face in the river but accidentally pushed me—”

“Nevermind that.” Touka raises a hand, silencing Hashirama. The long-haired brunette man-child pouts, disappointed that he was interrupted. “Anyways, I don’t care whether you tripped yourself in or if Madara just up and threw you in—what I want to know is what he said about Tobirama.” Touka paces over to the Senju clan head almost threateningly. “Spill, Hashirama. And don’t leave out a single detail.”

Hashirama nods, his pout turning into a serious expression as he recounts the whole encounter.

_Hashirama had finally escaped the current of the river and was now all soaked. He was drench from head to toe and ultimately dripping on the stone ground. Determined to not delay any longer, Hashirama mans up._

_With a vice grip, the drenched brunette grasps Madara’s leg in a hug, pulling the raven-haired man for his attention. Madara tries to shake Hashirama off, discomforted by the way the long-haired brunette was soaking his own clothes. However, Hashirama would not give in. “Madaraaaa…!” he whines and pleas. “Please! I need to know! Anything—just anything you can give me! Please!” Tears start pouring down the brown eyes as well as snot from the nose. “Please! Tobirama is my last sibling! He can’t—” A sniffle breaks his sentence as Hashirama tries to collect himself._

_He ultimately fails, however, and it is Madara who gives in. He couldn’t stand it any longer. As a fellow older brother who has lost siblings and had just almost lost his last sibling he understood how Hashirama was feeling at this moment. The dread, remorse, and fear that rages through the veins are sickening and maddening. Despite Hashirama being a failure of an older brother—this does not spare him of these feelings that come with the thought of losing the only one left._

_Madara felt sympathy for Hashirama. He too had just experienced the awful feeling days ago before Hashirama’s own little brother came and liberated him of that horrible feeling._

_It would be too cruel to leave Hashirama in this state._

_However, Madara knew what he had to offer was just blind hope._

_“A few days ago…” The wild-haired man began, this drew Hashirama’s sobs to a silence as the long-haired brunette listens intently to his best friend. “A few days ago, on the night after the most recent battle… Tobirama came to visit me at the Uchiha estate—with no armor, no weapons, absolutely nothing. Guess what he came here for?”_

**_No, no no! Is it really true—? Tobirama really left to—!_ ** **** _Hashirama’s eyes went wide and his skin paled to a sickly white. He didn’t want to believe it._ **_Madara couldn’t have—he couldn’t have—_ **

_Hashirama wouldn’t believe it._

_“W-what did he…?” Hashirama lets his question fade from his lips. It was as if he were afraid, that by asking it would confirm it—and all hope would be lost._

_Madara watches his friend’s reaction carefully, letting there be a long pause before he continues. “He said he came to ‘fix’ everything he has done.”_

_“‘Fix’ everything he has done?!” Hashirama blinks. The color continues to drain from his originally tan skin as he recalls his words to Tobirama during their fight._ **_No—did Tobirama really—?!_ **

_“He healed Izuna.” The dark-haired man begins to explain. He had a lighter, almost warm tone beneath his words. It was almost like he was smiling as he says the next sentence. “Now my little brother is alive and doing well.” However, the mood quickly twists to a slightly grim tone. “As for Tobirama though…”_

_“What happened to Tobirama, Madara?! Please tell me you didn’t do anything to him!” The long-haired brunette demands from his raven-haired friend in desperation._

_“I didn’t do anything to him besides a bit of rough-handling on my part when I discovered him.” A sigh of relief escapes the brunette Senju and he almost lets go of all the tension in his body then and there to collapse on the ground. However, he resisted so that he could fully process Madara’s words. “Tobirama escaped after Izuna caught us off-guard. He just disappeared from the whole estate’s vicinity. That was about a week ago.”_

“So, basically, Madara hasn’t seen her just about as long as we have.” Touka deadpans. The dark-haired woman sighs into her hands as she buries her face into them. “At least we know that they didn’t kill her…” Touka lets a pause consume the air as they let the relief sink in. Suddenly, Touka’s eyes spread wide as a realization hits her. “Wait a minute—Tobirama saved an Uchiha…?! And it was Izuna of all people?! I don’t even know where to begin!” The dark-haired woman releases an exasperated sigh as she messes with her tied up hair.

Hashirama nods, “I didn’t even know Tobirama could use healing jutsu until now.”

“That’s because you stopped paying attention to her experiments, you idiot.” Touka shakes her head out of exasperation. “If you had actually paid any attention to her rather than thinking of Madara and peace all the time, then maybe you would have known that.”

“You knew?” Hashirama blinks.  _How could Touka have known when I didn’t? Tobirama usually always tells me things sorts of things! She always went on and on about her experiments until I would just drone it out—Ahh._  Hashirama scavenges his mind for the last time Tobirama had ever tried to explain her research or a new jutsu to him.

Maybe he wasn’t paying as much attention to his little sister as a brother should.

“Of course I did.” Touka arches an eyebrow at the long-haired brunette as she crosses her arms. “Who do you think she used it on in the first place?”

Hashirama decides that once they find Tobirama, he would listen to her more often.

 

“Welcome to the Inuzuka lands, Senju Tobirama.” An authoritative voice echoes through the rather large room. All around the room, dogs are sitting along the perimeter, surrounding the foreigner. In the center of the back wall sits a woman with curly brown hair and red fang clan marks on her cheeks.

Tobirama gives a curt bow to the Inuzuka clan head, Inuzuka Tsubaki. “It is an honor.”

The silver-haired woman stands before the older brunette woman who pets her faithful partner, a wolf-like dog. After the whole incident with the rogues, Yuzuki had brought Tobirama back to the Inuzuka lands to thank her. Tobirama insisted that there was no need for thanks but the girl wouldn’t listen. So, now, Tobirama stands before the Inuzuka clan head with her signature blue armor on for formalities sake.

The clan head laughs, “No need to be formal! Everyone here is horrible with it! Plus, you did save Yuzuki!” Tsubaki gleams with a toothy smile. “Therefore, you are a guest to our lands! Enjoy your stay and I’ll have Yuzuki escort you home tomorrow morning!”

“Thank you.” Tobirama gives another polite bow, feeling a bit uncomfortable by the casual air that fills the estate. However, at the same time, it was comfortable. It reminded her a bit of Hashirama and Touka who never did care all too much about formalities. Plus, all of the dogs were definitely contributing to the comfort factor.

After Tsubaki’s warm welcome, several of the dogs in the room became curious at the new presence and proceeded to inspect Tobirama. Finding her not a threat, quite a few of the beautiful creatures nuzzled into her legs. She sneaks a hand behind one particularly affectionate dog with floppy ears, scratching the back of its ear gently. Happy with the attention, the dog nuzzles into the silver-haired girl’s hand. Tobirama’s crimson eyes soften at the act and her lips loosen slightly but not noticeable enough for anyone to really notice unless they were paying attention.

Abruptly, Tobirama is shaken by the tug of Yuzuki’s arm when she wraps it around her arm. The curly-haired brunette begins to drag the silver-haired guest out of the room as she claims that she would show “him” around. Tobirama catches Momomaru’s head shake of exasperation at her partner’s behavior and lack of awareness; however, the dog never corrects her—nor do the others in fact. Tobirama had caught Tsubaki holding back her own laughter along with the other dogs in the room she had just left.

After being introduced to practically every room in the Inuzuka estate that did not involve books or paperwork, much to Tobirama’s disappointment for the former not the latter, the two women wander through the rather unusually calm hallway. Unlike this hallway, most every corner of the whole estate was filled with some sort of clansmen—whether it was human or dog.

Yuzuki had dragged Tobirama to this particular hall, telling the silver-haired young woman about how she smells something interesting coming from here. Having no choice, Tobirama and Momomaru follow the curly-haired brunette down the mysteriously quiet hall.

Yuzuki stops to sniff the air for the third time since entering the hall before she points out the room to her right. “There! That’s where the smell is coming from!”

Tobirama was once again impressed by the Inuzuka’s sense of smell. It was sharp and could pick up things that the average human can’t and yet Yuzuki can’t seem to smell out Tobirama’s gender. To the silver-haired genius, the whole scenario was amusing.

The curly-haired brunette tip toes into the room, leaving the silver-haired guest and the German shepherd to follow in after her. The room was clean with several storage containers lining the shelves and the pristine counters sparkling along with the rest of the plain furniture in the room. It vaguely reminds Tobirama of her own lab back in the Senju estate—except this one was clearly more for medical use rather than for experimentation with jutsus. These observations are interrupted by harsh poking by Yuzuki who is trying to draw Tobirama’s attention. Silently, Yuzuki points to a certain jar on the counter of the room before she reaches out towards it. The silver-haired sensor quickly sees the danger with the whole situation and reacts on instinct to grab the curly-haired brunette.

However, someone beats her to it.

Suddenly, a hand grips Yuzuki’s wrists, stopping the curious brunette from grabbing the jar container. “What have I said about touching things in my lab, Yuzuki?”

“Natsu-nee!” Yuzuki shrieks before pouting. Her face twists into the human expression equivalent to a puppy on a time-out.

“Welcome back, Yuzuki, Momomaru.” A tall woman with long, wavy dark brown hair tied in a ponytail greets the troublesome curly-haired brunette and her dog partner with a smile. She turns to Tobirama, who now stands tall with her hand back to her side, and gives the girl a contemplative look. Tobirama notes that she has slightly tan skin, like most Inuzuka clansmen, with the signature red fang clan marks on her cheeks and honey brown eyes. Tobirama focuses on the woman’s scar, which is right above the woman’s right eye, for a moment. Her attention snaps back in place when the dark brown-haired woman begins to speak again. “I see, you must be the one who saved Yuzuki. I’m Natsu, nice to meet you.” Natsu holds out her hand to Tobirama.

The silver-haired woman takes the hand and shakes it. “Tobirama, likewise.”

“Tobirama? As in  **the**  Senju Tobirama?” Natsu’s honey brown eyes widen slightly. “But, aren’t you supposed to be a—” She cuts herself off, letting the thought wander for a bit.

This, unfortunately, upsets Yuzuki who is out of the loop, ultimately frustrating the curly-haired brunette. “What is he supposed to be, Natsu-nee?”

Natsu takes one glance at Yuzuki before the situation clicks in her mind. “I see…” Natsu ignores the curly-haired brunette, who fumes, in favor of continuing her conversation with Tobirama. “Well, I am glad Yuzuki has made such a good friend. Thank you for making sure her idiocy didn’t kill her yet.”

“Hey! I am not an idiot!” Yuzuki hollers from beyond the conversation. Momomaru releases an exasperated sigh at her owner and partner.

Not having let go of their handshake, Natsu’s eyes slide down her arm to Tobirama’s own, noticing an oddity in the other woman’s smooth pale skin.

“Wait a minute Tobirama.” Natsu holds up Tobirama’s arm while sliding the sleeve down it. “Is that a bruise on your wrist?”

Tobirama blinks at the sudden outburst, confused for a moment. The words then click to the night she had escaped and Madara’s strong grip on her wrist. The sensor grimaces in her mind. She had been careless and had forgotten all about the surfacing bruise from her escapade—and now others have seen a moment of weakness in her.  _Father would be disappointed._   

“What?!” Yuzuki jumps at the information, rushing to the silver-haired genius’s side to also check out the bruise. “That looks horrible! How could you fight like that when your wrist is so injured?!”

“It isn’t too bad,” Tobirama explains. “I haven’t felt any pain yet."

Natsu seems to have taken offense to her explanation as the dark-haired woman fumes. “You should have said something if you knew you had it!” Natsu releases Tobirama. “Stay there!” She then rushes off to her shelves, retrieving a couple of ointments and bandages before stomping back to the silver-haired girl. Tobirama watches with slight awe as the woman gingerly treats her bruised wrist with the unknown ointment and bandages.

After the treatment was done, the curious Tobirama flexes her bandaged wrist a bit. She feels a twinge of pain spike through it but it was not as painful as Tobirama had thought it would be.  _Must be the ointment she used._  The silver-haired woman turns to Natsu and comments. “This ointment is quite fascinating. Did you create it yourself?”

“Yeah, I’m a herbalist,” Natsu explains with bursting pride. “It’s my specialty blend actually. I’ll give you some to apply for your trip. It doesn’t seem like that will heal for at least a week or two.”

“I appreciate it.” Tobirama gives the woman a courteous nod.

Afterwards, Yuzuki drags Tobirama back after realizing she hasn’t shown her which room is hers for the night.

 

The next morning, Tobirama stretches as she breathes in the fresh morning air.

She had enjoyed a light breakfast with the Inuzuka clansmen, which was encouraged by the Inuzuka head and Yuzuki—especially Yuzuki. Now she stands in front of the Inuzuka land’s front gate with her blue armor equipped as she waits for the curly-haired brunette and her German shepherd familiar.

“Hey! Sorry to make you wait!” The familiar chirpy voice of Yuzuki calls from afar, causing Tobirama to turn around to face her.

Much to the silver-haired genius’s surprise, Yuzuki was not only being accompanied by Momomaru but also several other dogs, Tsubaki, and Natsu as well. Tobirama lifts a silver eyebrow at the send-off display, not sure what to make out of the warm farewell.

All the dogs had nearly overwhelmed the sensor by tackling her and smothering her with licks and kisses and fluffy fur and plushy paws.

Natsu had to pull Tobirama out from the heavenly dog pile, which Tobirama couldn’t decide was a curse or a gift. The dark-haired woman then proceeds to present the silver-haired girl with the ointment she had promised the night before. “Come visit us, okay.”

“You’re always welcome here,” Tsubaki promises as she gifts a white fur scarf to Tobirama, wrapping the beautiful accessory around her shoulders.

Tobirama reaches for the scarf and touches it, feeling the soft and smooth fur against her skin.

A small smile escapes the mask.

“Thank you.”

With a final farewell full of hand waves and howls, Tobirama and her escorts—Yuzuki and Momomaru—set off on their journey back to the Senju estate.

 

Meanwhile, dark brown eyes narrow in determination as they meet bright brown eyes.

“No more waiting for those damned elders to make up their minds—we’re sending a search party for Tobirama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think?  
> I hope that the first part with Hashirama and Touka finished nicely. I'm still not too sure if I actually wrapped it up enough.  
> Also, I hope you enjoyed the Inuzuka clan! I absolutely love dogs and their adorableness!~ Sadly, I could not go on and on with descriptions of how dogs are some of the most adorable things in the world...  
> Anyways, on that line about the Inuzuka clan--  
> Thank you, JinxFever34 from FF for your OC, Natsu! I hope I have exhibited her to your likings! (I kind of wrote her instinctually while keeping in mind your descriptions of her, so I'm really sorry if she is OOC at all.)
> 
> Anyways, to wrap this all up here are the reminders again!  
> Please please please--keep sending in some fuel for Izuna's mangekyo ability! I usually can spark an idea from even a small note or idea or concept! So don't be shy and just suggest it!  
> Also, SYOC is still open! Idk for how long but for now it is! I'm sort of hoping to expand the village a bit... maybe add in some new clans or even some clans we already know! *cough* *cough* Hyuuga *cough* *cough* Aburame *cough* *cough* Hatake *cough* *cough* --insert a clan that we know is in Konoha by Kakashi's time (NO, Haruno is not a ninja clan--they are civilians)--  
> Ahem! Sorry, I'm coughing so much.  
> Anyways, also, please send in scenarios! As I have stated above they will be vital for the non-plot load of chapters to come!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Please send a kudos and comment before you leave!~


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Sorry, this took so long! I didn't have inspiration for a few days since I was struggling with how to begin the whole thing!  
> Hopefully, you guys like it!
> 
> Okay, so Izuna's ability is still looking for a solid idea--
> 
> \--and OCs are still welcome! I love all the unique OCs I have been getting so far! Thank you for all of you who have sent an OC!
> 
> Also, I am in need of scenarios still! So, if you have any ideas on things from everyday life you would want to see once Konoha is being built (and is built) then just send in those requests!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!~

The morning sky is bright, the sunlight streaming through the clouds with no care of how hot it made the day. The sky lit with a bright blue despite the blotches of white. 

Touka’s head is tilted back with a hand just above her eyes as she watches a particular cloud float lazily. A sigh escapes her lips before her attention falls on the sulking brunette beside her. “No matter how sorry you look, you can’t Hashirama.” 

A pout dominates Hashirama’s face as he complains. “But I want to go too!” He crosses his arms like the man-child he is and sulks. “I want to see Tobirama again… I want to talk to her as soon as possible and clear up everything and apologize.”

“Well, you can’t.” Touka shakes her head. “The elders would throw a fit if the clan head went and disappeared too, plus we have no idea who could attack the estate if you did leave. Besides,” The dark-haired woman’s eyes narrow as they bore through her cousin. Her eyes glint with a threatening malice. “Do you think Tobirama would even want to see you after all of this?”

A dark aura overwhelms Hashirama’s being as he slumps over and sighs. His eyes are drained of emotion, looking blank and listless as he mutters. “That’s right… would she even want to…”

A grimace flashes across the genjutsu-specialist’s face. She did not want to deal with Hashirama’s extremely annoying neurosis right now—it would just make her even more irritated. She doesn’t have the legendary patience Tobirama has with her older brother—even if said patience snaps the moment he does something extremely stupid. Touka sighs. “Sorry, I went too far.” She scratches the back of her neck, her fingers brush against her tightly bound hair, tugging at it slightly. “I’m sure Tobirama would want to talk with you again. After all, she loves you a lot… just don’t do something so stupid ever again, Hashirama.” Touka’s grimace twists into a glare. A heated aura seethes from the dark-haired woman as she stares down her esteemed clan head. “Or I really will wring your neck.”

“I won’t…!” Hashirama insists, determination shining in his brown eyes as they meet Touka’s dark ones. “I won’t ever take Tobirama for granted ever again!” Hashirama declares and promises.

The Senju genjutsu-specialist smiles. “Good, you better keep that promise now.” Touka will make him eat those words if he ever broke them. Her smile twitches into a smirk as a thought crosses her mind. “And I was kidding about the ‘something stupid part’. I know that it’s impossible for you not to do something stupid, ever.”

“Hey!” The brunette gasps, offended.

Touka laughs hysterically at her cousin’s dispense, causing the long-haired brunette to pout. After what felt like forever, the woman finally stops laughing. Touka’s stomach still aches from all the laughter as she recovers. She even clutches her sides, trying to ease the pain that tinges throughout it. “I should get going,” Touka inhales and exhales, further calming down. She picks up her naginata, resting it on her shoulder. She lets its familiar weight rest as she turns around towards the exit. “Tobirama isn’t going to be found if no one goes out of their way to find her after all.”

Hashirama smiles at this before his voice shifts to a serious tone. “Make sure both of you come home safe.”

“Of course!” Touka gives a cheeky smirk, “Who do you think you’re talking to?!” She waves her hand towards her cousin as she leaves the Senju estate. 

Hashirama waves back to her even after she is out of sight. After a long while, he slowly brings his arm down, his expression grim for a moment.  _ Tobirama…  _

A light bulb flickers on in the brunette’s mind. An excited grin plays onto the Senju head’s lips as he begins to skip inside the compound.

_ I need to tell Madara about this! _

 

“We must make a decision.”

Five figures were gathered in a single room all sitting on a cushion on the tatami floor. There were two women and three men, all quite old yet still quite young, seeming to be at least the age of 40. 

They are the elders of the Senju clan.

“With Tobirama now missing, we have no guarantees of an heir! We must take action quickly before it is too late!” A man who looks to be in his late 40s, Senju Yashiro, slams his hands on the table, trying to make his point clear on what their main focus is.

“Which is why we are trying to choose where to ask someone to be his spouse!” Barks the irritable Senju Emi, the woman always seemed to find everything that comes from Yashiro as a challenge of some sort. This always ended in the woman fighting the other elder, there disputes famous amongst the clan.

“Who would be the most willing to ally with us, though?” Senju Jirou places a hand on his chin as he tilts his head in calm wonder, not caring of the heated atmosphere between the other two elders.

The energetic Senju Fuji jumps out of his seat. “We must choose someone with enough power! After all, this is our future clan head we are talking about! We must have a strong heir—which means good genes.”

“The Uzumaki are known for their huge chakra reserves.” inputs Senju Kira, the woman’s words were always wise and most took note of what few things she said.

“True… plus they are already allied with us… which makes the alliance perfect!” Senju Emi contemplates, finding herself smiling at the end. Her mood was always brightened by the other woman elder—well any elder besides Yashiro.

Yashiro, who had wanted the last word, commands. “Quickly, let us write to Uzumaki clan, then.” 

 

Uchiha Hikaku forgot to breathe for a second.

“What…?” The man with a ponytail blinks his obsidian eyes at his cousin. The dark orbs are slightly wide from disbelief even as he blinks. “Izuna… have you finally gone mad?”

“Huh?” The said Uchiha heir raises an eyebrow and squints his opposite eye, as he looks at his cousin and best friend with exasperation. “No, I am not mad! And what do you mean ‘finally’?!”

“But, I mean… you absolutely loathe the Senju—especially Tobirama…” Hikaku trails off, still very much astonished by the whole conversation in general.

Izuna arches an eyebrow as he gives his best friend a deadpan look. “So, that was before—now is now.” 

“But, Izuna, no matter what you say—something like  _ that _ is just impossible.” The ponytailed man refused to believe it—there was just no way that this was all true. He must be stuck in some sort of genjutsu that his Sharingan can’t seem to break. “In the first place, how could Senju Tobirama break into the compound without us knowing and making a big fuss about it?”

“His teleportation-thingy he used during the last battle, remember?” Izuna sighs as he shakes his head as if he was irritated from pointing out the obvious.

Hikaku doesn’t end there, however. There was just too many points to this whole story that could only be false. “—And why would he come here to heal  **you** out of all people?”

“Don’t ask me, ask Tobirama!” Izuna growls, irritated that his cousin doesn’t believe him. He hates it when the other was being such an idiot. They have known each other since they have been in diapers! Doesn’t he know by now that Izuna doesn’t lie about these things?!

…then again… Izuna tends to prank his ponytailed friend quite a bit.

“And how exactly can I do that when he isn’t here?” Hikaku nearly shrieks, but mostly just shouts with an indoor voice. Usually, his voice never raises unless well it involved Izuna… and this involves Izuna so he very much did raise his voice. Exasperated, Hikaku buries his head into his hands and releases a frustrated groan before he fully recovers. “Nevermind that! Just continue with what you were saying!” He knew that he was fighting an argument he would not win—he never wins. “You were saying how you wanted to ‘thank’ Tobirama?”

Izuna brightens, knowing full well that he has won. He loves the feeling of winning, which he can really only enjoy from Hikaku since Madara is too aggressive and irritable and ends up throwing Izuna into the koi pond the moment his chirpy little brother makes an annoying peep. “Yeah! And I know that you write a bunch—seeing as you have a secret poetry stash hiding in your room that you yourself created—really? Poetry, Hikaku?  _ Poetry? _ ” Izuna gives Hikaku a grimace before returning to his commentary. ”—Anyways, never mind that. Your poetry isn’t even that good—”

“How would you know that?!” Hikaku demands, his voice rising an octave higher than it should ever be.

Izuna deadpans. “—because I’ve tried reading it, thinking I could use it to blackmail you…” The clan heir buries his face in his hands, shaking them together as if he is crying. “But seriously, Hikaku, just burn them, please. They are **horrible** . They make someone want to burn their eyes out—”

“—just move on from it!” A flustered Hikaku shouts in retaliation, trying to escape his embarrassment. 

“Fine, fine.” Izuna waves his hand off his face nonchalantly as if the whole event earlier did not happen. Hikaku seethes slightly at this but forces himself to calm down. It was just Izuna being Izuna after all. “Anyways, I want your help since you are fairly like Tobirama in the fact that you both seem to like boring things. Though… I guess Tobirama wins against you since he can at least create super cool jutsu with his boring hobbies…”

Hikaku glowers at Izuna. He does not appreciate having his poetry not only being ridiculed by someone who doesn’t know a thing about it and having his hobby ridiculed as ‘boring’. 

Thankfully, before he could snap at his best friend, the esteemed Uchiha clan head steps in, making his presence known.

“Izuna, if you want to thank Tobirama you should go to him directly.” Madara saunters into the conversation. His younger brother’s eyes draw to the parchment in his hand. Seeing that the letter has caught his brother’s attention, Madara smirks and waves the paper around a bit. “This is actually perfect since I have been meaning to thank Tobirama myself for healing you. How about you go fetch him, Izuna?” 

The wild-haired man hands the folded paper to his brother, allowing Izuna a moment to open it. Spread across the paper is a familiar scribble that makes Izuna take a second to realize who it belonged to.  _ Senju Hashirama…! _ He then notes how on the bottom of the letter is a translation of the contents from the illegible scribble in his older brother’s own neat and quite beautiful penmanship. 

He could never understand how his short-tempered brother who had no patience for just about anything could be so great at writing neatly. It probably came with his calligraphy hobby but that still didn’t explain how the impatient man could even have enough patience for writing a single complicated character when he didn’t have enough patience to deal with his own little brother! Then again, Izuna was his own blend of irritating in his own right. 

After carefully reading his brother’s translation for the Senju head’s letter, a playful, foxy grin erupts on Izuna’s face. This ultimately causes the building migraine in Hikaku’s head to grow heavier. 

“Oh,” Madara pauses before he turns to the ponytailed Uchiha. “Hikaku, you go too. I can’t trust Izuna to go alone and not infuriate whatever Senju is already searching.”

“Hey!” Izuna barks, “I am too trustworthy!”

Madara flicks his little brother’s forehead, causing the younger's hands to dive straight for his pained head. Izuna glowers at his older brother while Madara returns a smirk. “If you weren’t still under recovery orders I would try to trust you. But since you are—” The Uchiha clan head directs his attention to his little brother’s best friend. “Hikaku will tag along as your caretaker.”

Hikaku silently groans. 

Of course, he was Izuna’s designated babysitter since they were in diapers after all—of course, he would be the one who had to make sure he didn’t get himself killed by being the irritating little annoyance everyone knows he is. 

_ This is going to be a nightmare. _

Hikaku wished he really was under some sort of genjutsu at that moment, so he could possibly have a chance at actually waking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? I hope my Hashirama and Touka weren't too OOC...;-;  
> I was writing that section mostly half asleep... (once a weird sentence about Tobirama going to the circus popped up and I was like "WTF was I thinking about") So I hope they are fine character wise...  
> Also, I introduced Hikaku! xD  
> Personally, Hikaku's and Izuna's interaction was the most fun part to write this time. I hope you had fun reading it!
> 
> Anyways! Please help me with ideas for Izuna's ability! Also, please help with scenarios and feel free to drop in an OC!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I've been busy drawing the cover for "Dawn" and doing homework while studying for some exams!  
> I have like 2 exams this week and then I have one or two next week as well. D:
> 
> Anyways, enough about me. I have just the usual announcements. Basically, Izuna's mangekyo ability ideas, SYOC, and scenario requests!
> 
> Enough said, please enjoy the show!
> 
> **Note: Sorry for my bad flirting skills.

"This is a really bad idea, you know." Hikaku laments, "—a **really** bad idea." 

Izuna throws his arms behind his head as he continues forward without even sparing a glance in his friend’s direction. "You're such a worrywart! Stop being so paranoid all the time, Hikaku!" The young man with long raven hair tied into a low ponytail hums. "Or you'll grow gray hairs before you're 30!~" 

"I will not grow gray hairs that early—no matter how stressed I am by you." The other raven-haired young man but with a high ponytail blubbers, trying to defend himself. "And I have a legitimate reason to be worrying right now!"

At the moment, Hikaku and Izuna are traveling through the forest surrounding the Uchiha lands, heading north-west in the direction of the Senju lands in order to reach their destination. The two high-ranking Uchihas were tasked with joining the Tobirama Search Party that the Senju clan head had created in order to search for his younger brother, Tobirama—who had previously healed Izuna and saved him from death. Izuna, of course, being the loving guy we all know and love—not—wished to return the favor. This is when Madara stepped in and told of this opportunity, which Izuna wholeheartedly agreed to and in the end—Izuna needs his caretaker—so Hikaku was dragged along for the ride. That being said, Hikaku still had many doubts about the whole situation. 

"We are going to meet a Senju, possibly multiple of them, that we don't even know! We could be outnumbered out there! What if they attack us on sight?! We'd be outnumbered!" The list goes on as Hikaku continues to voice his paranoia. 

"It can't be that bad," Izuna waves off his best friend’s concerns like flies. "After all, look at Tobirama—he's not exactly the definition of a ray of sunshine—no, he is the exact opposite of it—and he isn't so bad, now is he?" 

Hikaku takes a moment to contemplate that thought. "True… if anyone can almost kill you, then come back and save you without killing you again can't be bad…" 

A silence settles between the two as they continue down their path. Izuna jumps over a particularly protruding tree root to avoid tripping over it.  "Honestly, I'm surprised you are even worried about _this_ ." Izuna points out as he twirls around the verdant forest road nonchalantly. "I thought you would be more agitated by the fact that you will have to work with the Senju." 

"It's not like I can really do much besides hating the Senju after all they have done to us…” The pony-tailed raven-haired man confesses as he too steps over the same, particular root. "But same goes for them—they can hate us just as much with all the things we have done for them. Even if my parents were killed by them, that doesn't mean I haven't killed someone else's parents. Plus, killing each other wouldn't change anything anyway and we will just all end up dead if we keep this up." Hikaku’s parents had been killed in this war against the Senju and initially, he too suffered great grief-led hatred towards the Senju. However, it is not as if he did not snap out of it. Over the years, after maturing a long while, Hikaku had come to understand that it was not so much the people who were wrong—okay, they were wrong too, but—it was more of this whole war that was unjustified. After hearing the Senju’s and Uchiha’s clan heads debate constantly about peace over the blood-filled battlefield as they sparred against one another, how could those words not start to affect one’s conceptions? "So, I'd rather experience the 'peace' Madara-sama speaks of rather than being all skeptical and having to suffer through these times—and if aiding a Senju search party for Tobirama is going to bring it, then I'll do just that." 

"Hmm..." This time Izuna gives Hikaku a little stare before he turns his attention back to the road in front of him. Every so often he will tilt his head from one side to another as he ponders. "So then you'll help us convince the clansmen to support the peace treaty?" 

"Yeah, of course, I will—wait a minute 'peace treaty'?!” The pony-tailed Uchiha squawks in bewilderment. “What are you talking about?! I haven't heard of this!" 

The Uchiha clan heir blinks at his best friend before he realizes what he had just let escape his mouth. "Oops!~" Izuna giggles playfully. "I guess the cat is out of the bag!~" He then twirls his attention to somewhere further along the forest path and perks up. "Oh look, I think I sense the Senju!" He skips forward, ignoring Hikaku’s constant whining and demands. "Come on, slowpoke! We need to hurry or we'll make the Senju angry~" 

Hikaku lets his head drop as his expression grows darker. A growl escapes his throat as the forest rumbles with his call. " **Iiiii** **z** **uuuu** **naaaaaaa** — **!** "

 

“I don’t want to fight any longer.”

Hashirama chokes. “W-what—?!”

The Uchiha clan head and Senju clan head are having a secret rendezvous at the river, similar to how they had met when they were young—in broad daylight with the sun gleaming above their heads. In correspondence to Hashirama’s last letter, Madara had sent his own letter by falcon asking for his old friend to meet him at the river the next day.

The Senju head’s brown eyes are wide with astonishment for a few seconds before they glisten and sparkle, tears forming at the edges of his eyelids. A smile brightens his earlier, more serious complexion, causing the brunette to look as if he has reverted back to being a child. Hastily, he traps his wild-haired friend. “Madara, did you say what I thought you just said?!”

The Uchiha clan head grimaces, knowing full well that indulging the brunette was no good and that he should just flee and try again another day. However, he is Uchiha Madara—he does not flee from over-excited man-children who will probably crush him if he starts to hug him. “Yeah,” Madara nods, confirming his friend’s thought.  “I want to end this war as quickly as possible, Hashirama. There will be no more second chances in the form of a self-sacrificing little brother—” Tobirama was a miracle. The albino genius, with his self-sacrificing stupidity that he shares with his older brother, could not be anything less. The silver-haired young man had toyed with life and death with how he has almost killed Izuna before ultimately saving him in the end. “—and I don’t want to lose mine again from this stupid war.” Determined obsidian eyes meet bright brown eyes. “Let’s make that village we dreamed about.”

Madara forces his eyebrow not to twitch when Hashirama coos. “Oh, Madara… Madara!” The large brunette then proceeds to tackle Madara into a bone-crushing hug.

The Uchiha clan head retaliates by pushing the idiotic long-haired brunette away from him straight into the river. **SPLASH!**

 

“Hashirama-sama! You’re soaking wet again!” A maid rushes over to her clan head when he comes home that afternoon soaking wet. The woman fusses over the handsome long-haired brunette as she grabs a large towel and hands it to her clan head. “If I may ask… what happened?”

“Ahh—” Hashirama averts his eyes and scratches the back of his head as he accepts the towel from the maid. “I wanted to practice my swimming skills, hehe… I’m sure getting rusty!”

The woman releases a relieved sigh before she shakes her head at her clan head’s foolishness. “Oh, Hashirama-sama.” Hashirama’s response is to continue laughing in order to cover up his lie.

Down the hall, a young woman with long, light cyan hair peeks out from the corridor. When her piercing violet eyes catch the sight of the brunette Senju head in his soaking wet glory, her lips tug into a small smirk. _Serves you right._

The woman’s name is Ekisha Hitomi, a soothsayer from the Ekisha clan and guest of the Senju clan for 11 years now. Her current goal, her goal since she had first arrived at the Senju estate, is to befriend a certain silver-haired genius crossdresser. Let’s say she understands the situation full well, has seen it in her visions of the future, and has a short fuse when it comes to idiots—especially idiots who don’t treasure their younger siblings.

Feeling satisfied, Hitomi then turns around, as she had all the evidence that the event had occurred, and retreats to her room. She would have to put off bombarding the idiotic clan head for now—even if her honey badgers were getting restless.

She would have to find some way to rid them of all their chakra-enhanced energy somehow, though—

—And she has just the perfect targets in mind—specifically, particular narrow-minded Senju elders.

The light-haired woman strolls down the hall with a slight skip in her step as she hums at the future demise she predicts.

 

Senju Touka’s eyes twitch at the thing in her vision. Big obsidian eyes stare up at her, meeting her dark scowl with a bright grin as his long raven hair sways from side to side—his whole appearance and demeanor screaming how adorable he is. Okay, so it was an adorable guy—but still, that didn’t change that he is a potential enemy.

Yes, she should not be thinking of, out of all people—Uchiha Izuna—as adorable. Even if he did resemble a gigantic puppy.

Uchiha Izuna is Tobirama’s rival—a strong ninja known to all Senju as a forewarning to run to either Hashirama or Tobirama, mostly Tobirama since Hashirama was usually occupied with his own Uchiha rival. Touka knew quite a bit about Izuna, like the fact that the boy was second-in-line to the Uchiha clan just as Tobirama is for the Senju clan. Or how he would be evenly matched with her genius cousin if it weren’t the fact that she always creates some new jutsu by every battle. However, Touka doesn’t actually know the younger man personally.

Therefore, she is unsure whether she should shrug off the Uchiha heir’s behavior as regular or if she should take caution—though the last option was a bit difficult at the moment.

“Hey there, beautiful.” A feline smile plays on the raven-haired young man’s lips, “So we meet again, huh? Fate must really like the thought of us together~” Izuna holds his hands to his heart as he dances about a bit. “How about we skip this guy and go on a stroll through the forest, just the two of us?”

The other Uchiha at the scene groans, exasperated. Touka was torn between groaning and punching the Uchiha heir in the face as well. Though for the search’s sake, Touka steels herself to follow through with the first option and groans.

Sure, Touka was charmed by the younger man—even enamored possibly. However, this was no time for fun and games. Her baby cousin was out there somewhere—misunderstood and lonely. She didn’t have time to be bothering with a very cute guy who was flirting with her. _Do not get tempted Touka—there is time for this later—after you find Tobirama._

The dark-haired woman clears her throat, ignoring the younger man’s flirtations. “I am Senju Touka and I have been in a very bad mood since my cousin disappeared. So the sooner we find Tobirama, the sooner we can get this whole situation cleared up—” Izuna pouts at how his flirtations were being ignored by the beautiful woman. The Senju genjutsu-specialist eyes the younger man’s cute expression with a sharp stare which is met by the Uchiha’s obsidian eyes. “—then I’ll consider that stroll.”

Instantly, Izuna brightens—his whole self practically glows as enthusiasm grows, ready to explode from the young man’s small body. Hikaku groans again as he buries his face in his hands. He could never understand how his best friend did it—but he seemed able to get practically all the girls even if he sounds like some sort of swindler. Hikaku blames Izuna’s particularly cute face and bubbly-seeming attitude. The pony-tailed Uchiha introduces himself and Izuna as the other would be incapable of doing so in his current state of ditzy. Hikaku then chokes when he realizes just _who_ it is that stands before him.

The tall, dark-haired woman with her hair tied in a topknot was none other than **Senju Touka** —third command of the Senju army known to have genjutsu skills that rival the Sharingan. Hikaku gulps. It wasn’t as if he was afraid that he couldn’t match the woman before him—oh no, Hikaku is also the third command in his own right. He did have skills beyond babysitting Izuna that earned him respect from the Uchiha clan head.

Rather than fear for himself—it was fear for Izuna that had Hikaku nervous.

Izuna, the idiot, was hitting on none other than **Senju Touka**. A ruthless figure on the battleground with major genjutsu and naginata-wielding skills. If Izuna says the wrong thing, who knows what she will do—and this is Izuna, he is bound to say something offensive at one point or another.

“Wait—you’re _Senju Touka_?! _That_ **Senju Touka** —?!” Izuna’s obsidian eyes widen from bewilderment as he stares at the tall beauty in front of him. “As in the powerful Senju genjutsu-specialist who can destroy the battlefield with her naginata?!”

 _Ahh… it’s too late._ The color in Hikaku’s eyes fades as his eyes fall into a blank state. _I’m sorry, Madara-sama—your little brother is beyond saving…_

Much to Hikaku’s surprise, Izuna survives another day. He blames Izuna’s cute face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was this chapter? I know it was more comedy and for a while now I haven't shown Tobirama, but I will get to her!  
> Sleepymangahead (AO3), did you like Hitomi? I only showed a small snippet of her--but I hope I got her correct! Please tell me if I need to fix anything!
> 
> Also, just a repeat for what I requested above:  
> 1) Izuna's mangekyo ability ideas:  
> ** I am debating between a neat idea to stop/manipulate time for only a few seconds/moments//similar to Obito's Kamui but with time.  
> *** or something illusion related  
> ** or you can add in an idea!  
> 2) SYOC  
> ** still open!!! (for now)  
> 3) scenario requests
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! Finally able to update!   
> Sadly, I am currently struggling in my math class, so I need to pay attention to my school work more... It's not that the subject is hard, it's just that I didn't have the textbook in the beginning of class so I was behind and got a really low score for my first quiz... so now my grade is a C... TT^TT
> 
> Anyways, that's my rant of the day. 
> 
> Okay! So please remember that there are still a bit of room in the SYOC list so enter in fast if you want a spot! I think I may end this by the time the peace treaty is established, so make sure you enter in if you will regret not entering!
> 
> Also, I am on the verge of Izuna's mangekyo ability so fear not! But if you do have ideas, then feel free to suggest it. It might make me change my mind. 
> 
> Besides all of those, all that is left are scenario requests! Once all this plot stuff is done with, it will mostly be fun time and character/romance development time!~ 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter!~

Two raven-haired young men trek the uneven verdant path as they follow the lead of one dark-haired young woman. 

Izuna couldn’t be happier with this development. 

For one thing, he was traveling with an incredibly beautiful woman. Senju Touka’s silky, dark brown hair is tied neatly into a bun on top of her head and the way she moves her body only emphasizes on her tall figure and great muscles. Not only is the woman in front of him very awe-inspiringly beautiful, she is also terrifyingly strong. 

Izuna cannot help but get more enticed by the fact. 

The younger raven-haired man couldn’t help it—he just really loves beautiful, strong women. 

Especially, beautiful, strong women who could beat him senseless—something Hikaku very much can never understand about his best friend. 

Another thing, Izuna is helping his older brother get the peace he has always wanted—while traveling with the most beautiful woman in the world. As far as Izuna is concerned, that is something to be happy about. 

Though for Hikaku, it’s a nightmare. The poor ponytailed young man is tense and on guard. 

After all, who knows how long it will take before the fearsome Senju woman finally snaps at his best friend for staring at her butt?

Hikaku wishes Izuna would just stop doing that—he really did not want to defend him in case the woman really did break out into a rage. He is not getting paid enough for this. 

Then again, he really isn’t getting paid at all for this. 

The lamenting Uchiha glances to the side at his best friend, his obsidian eye twitches in exasperation.  _ Is he…  _ **_drooling_ ** _ …?!  _ Yeah, Hikaku was not getting paid enough to deal with all of this. 

“Hey,”

Hikaku jolts—he literally flinches at the sudden sound of Senju Touka’s voice. Not that the dark-haired woman was paying any attention to him—no, the Senju is staring straight at the raven-haired young man beside him. Cold sweat slides across Hikaku’s pale skin as an abrupt chill runs through his skin, causing him to shudder slightly. 

“Yes, beautiful?” Izuna inches closer to the woman as he tilts his head. 

Touka averts her dark eyes away from the raven-haired boy as she brings her arms to cross in front of her chest. She then glances back at the Uchiha clan head with a newfound determination as she inhales and exhales a breath. “Are you all healed?” 

The two Uchiha men blink at the Senju woman. Hikaku glances over Izuna who is gaping, just as shocked by the sudden question as he is. After a few more seconds of silence, though, the Uchiha clan heir’s lips twitch up into a smirk. “Yeah,” The long-haired Uchiha stretches to show off his dexterity and lean muscles. “Your cousin lives up to his name as a genius—I’m all healed up and raring to go.” 

Touka’s lips quirk up into a smile of her own. “Yeah, Tobirama is great.” It was a beautiful, faint smile and, the moment Izuna lays eyes on it, an arrow with a heart-shaped tip shoots through his heart. Hikaku’s obsidian eyes narrow impassively at his friend as he groans in his mind at the development. 

Izuna is gone with no hope of return. 

The ponytailed young man would have groaned out loud if it wouldn’t have ruined the whole moment. 

He holds back for his best friend, though, and for his own sanity. 

_ How will I ever explain this to Madara-sama…?! _

Hikaku’s obsidian eyes twitch as he watches his best friend, with his heart eyes, start to follow the tall, dark-haired woman. He could almost see the alert ears and the enthusiastically wagging tail. 

_ Please, Tobirama—let us find you quickly…! I don’t think I can deal with this madness any longer!  _

 

An abrupt sneeze interrupts the serene journey and energetic conversation between human and dog. 

“Bless you!” Yuzuki instinctively sings as Momomaru barks in response to Tobirama’s sudden sneeze. 

The pearly-haired woman rubs her nose with the back of her hand to get rid of the itch. “Thank you,” 

Yuzuki has her hands behind her head as she walks backward in front of Tobirama. “They say that when you sneeze, someone is thinking about you.~” 

“That is highly inaccurate superstition.” Tobirama scoffs, “Sneezes derive from the lungs as a convulsive expulsion of air that travels through the nose and mouth. It is usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa—” 

Yuzuki twirls back around, “Yes, yes—whatever you say!” The curly-haired brunette continues to skip ahead, even as Tobirama and Momomaru don’t make an effort to catch up. 

It has been two days since the trio has started their journey to escort Tobirama back to Senju lands. Tobirama had calculated beforehand that the trip would take about five days from the Inuzuka estate and had been given the necessary supplies in order to make the five-day trip. Currently, the silver-haired woman, brunette woman, and the German shepherd have traveled about two-fifths of the way—according to Tobirama’s mental map—which means they are pleasantly ahead of schedule. 

Tobirama gazes up at the sky, finding an orange hue filtering the usually blue sky. A warm nudge to the pearly-haired woman’s knee causes Tobirama to tilt her head towards the ground. Her crimson eyes meet the bright brown eyes of Momomaru, who had nuzzled into her knee earlier to warn her that Yuzuki is beginning to stray ahead. A small smile flickers on the silver-haired woman’s face as she pets the dog’s fluffy head, letting her fingers gloss over Momomaru’s ears. Tobirama then releases the dog and motions towards her partner. “Go ahead. Can you tell her that we will be setting up camp?” 

Momomaru barks in response before she rushes after her partner. Tobirama watches the German shepherd as she trots over to Yuzuki’s side and barks a couple more times, exchanging words with the Inuzuka woman. Tobirama guesses Momomaru must have conveyed her words to Yuzuki as the curly-haired brunette twirls around to shout back at her. “We’re going ahead!” The Inuzuka pair wave to the Senju warrior before they charge off into the woods. 

Tobirama returns a small wave and watches the other woman and her dog leave. The silver-haired woman stands there for a moment, allowing Yuzuki and Momomaru run ahead of her a good distance before she takes off after them. 

With her sensory prowess, Tobirama easily follows the Inuzuka ninja duo no matter how fast they are jumping through the trees. The duo stop at a clearing next to a river and, once the silver-haired genius reaches the location, she finds Yuzuki setting up camp as Momomaru hunts for fish in the stream. 

“There’s nothing else to do, so just relax!” Yuzuki calls over her shoulder to the approaching silver-haired genius as she spreads the firewood. “Just go take a bath or something!” The curly-haired brunette shoos away the silver-haired woman. 

Tobirama glances up at the sky, taking note that the sun has fallen closer to the horizon and the orange tone is more vivid than before. She then turns her gaze back to the camp. Yuzuki seems to be almost finished with the setup and Momomaru has already caught her fifth fish before flinging it to the shore. “I’ll take you up on that offer, then.” 

Tobirama twirls around, picking up a scroll before she walks away from the group, heading downstream. 

The silver-haired woman doesn’t see the wolfish smirk that crawls up the brunette’s lips as she leaves. 

 

The cool water on her pale bare skin feels heavenly to the albino woman. 

The heat of the day with the addition of her clothing had caused Tobirama to feel mucky and the cool river water really helps in making the woman feel clean. Then again, just about any water feels almost heavenly to the prominent water style user. 

Nevertheless, Tobirama enjoys water. It calls to her, accepts her, embraces her. 

The silver-haired woman allows her fingers to glide through the water lazily, letting her mind drift along with the ripples she causes in the river. She lets her hands cup together, feeling the weight of the fluid against every pore in her hand as she gracefully lifts the water up, splashing her face with it. She then glides her smooth hands over cheeks up into her hair, matting the short, spiky damp hair back as the cool grace of the water sinks deeper into her pale skin and hair. 

A sudden gasp wakes Tobirama from her water-induced euphoria. 

“Y-you’re a  **woman** ?!” Shrieks a familiar voice as a certain curly-haired brunette jumps out of the bushes in exasperation. 

The silver-haired woman shakes her head. She had been wondering how long it would take the clearly ignorant woman to realize. Inuzuka are supposedly trained in smell and other senses, yet the woman with all of her enhanced senses, could not seem to detect the truth. So Yuzuki still believed Tobirama was a man despite the clothing she had been wearing when they had first met and the way her clan head and mates snicker at her obliviousness.  

Tobirama arches an eyebrow at her newfound friend, “How were you planning on explaining your actions if I weren’t one?” 

Yuzuki blinks her big brown eyes, her mouth left agape as she releases a strained groan. “Uhhhh…” 

 

The fire sizzles as the embers fling up into the night. Three figures sit in a circle around the fire, each with their own portion of food. 

“What do you think of peace?” 

The abrupt question causes Hikaku to choke on his current swallow, the ponytailed man hacking as he feels the object roughly scratch down his esophagus. Izuna reacts more calmly to the question, turning to smile at the focus of his affection. 

“What I think of peace?” The smile, however, fades as quickly as it came, metamorphosing into a more grim expression. “It isn’t something I’ve really thought much about, with how our world is and how we grew up—but, Nii-san—he has always been talking about it.” Absently, Izuna plays with his food. His clear obsidian eyes are trained on the burning fire. “Most of the time, the scenarios he lays before me feel like a dream… Sometimes, even I yearn for it.” He closes his eyes gently, shutting his sight away from the embodiment of warmth. “But, I know that it is merely a fantasy.” 

Touka focuses on the Uchiha clan heir. She had never expected the happy-go-lucky guy she has been traveling with to react like this. Then again, she couldn’t really predict how the man would’ve reacted in the first place. She herself wouldn’t have known how to answer this question despite how she was the one who asked it in the first place. Peace is foreign to this era. Even if she has been hearing Hashirama’s ramblings on the concept since her cousin could actively understand the world, Touka still could not answer how she felt on the subject. Like Izuna said, Touka believed peace was unachievable—that it was an impossible dream that Hashirama would need to grow out of. Yet he didn’t and here they are today—Senju and Uchiha working together to search for her dear baby cousin. 

“Well, at least I did until a few days ago.” Izuna’s light voice startles the puzzled dark-haired woman. Touka hastily trains her dark eyes on the Uchiha’s face as the flame between them flickers. The younger dark-haired man leans back slightly as he tilts his head back to stare at the stars. “After what Tobirama did…” Izuna’s lips twitch up into a smile. “... I can’t help but believe that there is a chance—” He then brings his focus back on Touka and, with a big grin, he laughs. “—I feel like there is an actual chance we can all achieve peace!” 

Mesmerized by the charming smile on the cute man’s face, Touka parts her lips slightly, releasing the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Hikaku mirrors the woman. The ponytailed Uchiha clansman froze as he stares at his best friend with a slight gape of a mouth. 

Silence holds over the group even as the sizzle of the burning fire continues and the cricket’s anthem of chirps play in the background. 

Laughter breaks the tension. 

Touka’s laughter is beautiful, like an angel’s song to Izuna’s ears, even if the beauty was laughing at him. “Tobirama was right, you are an idiot.” 

Hikaku soon joins along with a chuckle before Izuna can interject with an offended shout. “Hey!” 

 

Unknown to the Tobirama search party, the happy group were under surveillance at that moment. 

“I must report this to the clan head, immediately.” With a silent jump, the shadow creeps away into the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was this chapter? Did you all enjoy it?  
> I know these past few chapters are a bit filler-ish, but I need to let things ease out!  
> Now...  
> Who was that person spying on the Tobirama Search Party?!  
> I would love to hear your predictions! ^^
> 
> Anyways, please remember that the SYOC time is almost up! I'm thinking of ending it once the peace treaty is established, which is soon (I promise).   
> Also, if you have any suggestions for Izuna's mangekyo, I'm all ears! But, I think I may have it down already! (Though it doesn't hurt to hear more ideas.)  
> Plus, don't forget those scenario requests!~
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I actually managed to finish this today! XD  
> Anyways, as I've said previously, my school work is getting a bit more intense so my updating schedule has significantly slowed down. Sorry that I won't be able to update practically every three days, now.   
> I also wish to write a Sumigakure prompt before October ends... so there is that to work on along with my other fics.  
> So, please be patient!
> 
> I just want to give a shout out to FoxCollector for helping me on a couple of ideas! Thanks a lot! ^^
> 
> Anyways, the usual is available! SYOC shop will close soon! Once the Tobirama Search Party Arc and the Peace Treaty Arc is finished, I will be closing the shop! I want to actually finish this series, so I'm gonna try to shorten my timeline on this story a smidge. Though this is more of a foundation/fanservice fic than anything. This fic is supposed to be mostly just the foundation for my Kakashi Chronicles series... 
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy! It looks like the arc will soon FINALLY end. :3

“The  **Uchiha** and  **Senju** are making an  _ alliance _ ?!” A booming voice echoes in the large, dark room, causing the flames from the candles flicker as if a strong gust has passed through the room. The moonlight shines behind the large figure who sits on the bamboo stage, the brightness obscuring the man’s face in the darkness of the shadows. 

“Yes, my esteemed clan head…! I saw it with my own eyes!” A lone ninja kneels before the towering figure who sits on his throne with his head tucked down as his eyes stare at the other man’s feet. “Uchiha Izuna and Hikaku, the second- and third-in-command of the Uchiha clan, and Senju Touka, third-in-command of the Senju clan, were sitting together at a camp and were not  _ fighting _ .” The kneeling man informs, retelling the sight he had seen that very evening. “They were talking about peace or something and also—” The man chokes on his words. 

“What?” The large man jumps out of his seat in irritation. He then commands his loud voice to demand, “What were they talking about?!” 

The subordinate ninja stutters, catching his breath as he continues. “—I believe they are in search of Senju Tobirama! They spoke of ‘finding him’...” He confesses. 

There is a heavy silence which pushes on the tension that is exerted on the room. Suddenly, the towering man laughs hysterically, which causes his subordinates to jump at the abrupt, rough sound. The older man’s lips lace into a wolfish smirk. “Perfect… this—we can use this in our favor!” He clenches his fist as his grin spreads wider, showing even more teeth. “In one fell swoop, both the Senju and Uchiha will be turned against each other and will wipe each other out and then we—the Hagoromo clan—will stand at the top of the whole Fire country!”  

 

“Are we even going in the right direction?” 

Both Senju and Uchiha third-in-commands freeze at the abrupt suggestion which came from the Uchiha clan heir. The two then twirl their focus to Izuna who had stopped in the middle of the road with a hand on his chin as he holds a contemplative expression. 

The Tobirama Search Party trio had stopped at the revelation. They had been traveling for the past two days, searching for the runaway genius, Senju Tobirama. Yet all members of said search party failed to realize that they had no clue where the Senju clan heir had run away to. All that is known is that Tobirama wasn’t in either Senju or Uchiha clan lands, and from there the party had decided to head north in their search. 

_ But what if Tobirama is in the south—not in the north…?  _

“How did I not think of this…!” Touka berates herself, snapping everyone back. 

Instantly, Izuna regrets voicing his opinion. 

Touka is a beautiful woman—especially beautiful when she is smiling and happy. The Uchiha clan heir hates to see this lovely, strong woman feel so troubled—the grim expression on her face does not suit her. 

Izuna bites his lip in frustration. His obsidian eyes race to find some sort of distraction. 

“Well, he actually is most likely North, isn’t he?” Hikaku’s voice rings clear in the Uchiha clan head’s ears, snapping the dark-haired young man out of his daze. “Tobirama used his new teleportation technique to escape, correct?” The ponytailed Uchiha reasons, “And from what I’ve heard of the technique, it can teleport the user to places that are ‘marked’ by the user.” Touka nods in agreement as Izuna’s eyes flicker from the dark-haired Senju to his best friend. Hikaku continues after given confirmation on his knowledge. “Given that Tobirama usually operates on missions in the north rather than the south since that’s where Izuna handles… that means most of the places he has already marked will be up north rather than in any other direction.” The ponytailed man explains, leading up to his conclusion. “Therefore, our best bet on finding Tobirama will be up north.” 

Touka relaxes slightly as her mind processes and agrees with that logic. 

_ Nice, Hikaku! _ Izuna throws a thumbs up to his best friend, which Hikaku returns. 

The ponytailed Uchiha motions the other boy to move on with an exasperated expression, which Izuna retorts with a playful smirk. 

“Now, then,” Izuna gracefully strolls over to the dark-haired Senju with a smile. “Shall we continue on with our search, beautiful leader?” 

“Yes, we should. Let’s not lose any more time.” Touka flashes a quick smile before she waltzes ahead of the group. “Follow me!” The muscular, dark-haired woman strides across the path with powerful and bold steps. When reaching a particular point in the path where there was a low hanging branch in the way, Touka lifts the branch as she passes through under it. 

Izuna’s eyes follow her biceps as they flex deliciously, subtly licking his lips. He whistles, “Those are some fine guns you have ther— **oof!** ” 

Touka had released the branch around the moment Izuna had gotten halfway through his sentence, letting the branch to swing back—right into Izuna’s face. 

Hikaku tries to stifle a laugh but a chuckle escapes and Touka just releases a howl of laughter at the younger boy’s bewildered face. Izuna pouts childishly as he fumes, pushing aside the branch in order to pass the road. Touka continues laughing for a good while as she leads the group through the forest. 

Izuna smiles at the lovely sound. 

He doesn’t mind making a fool of himself if she can continue laughing like this. 

 

“Wait—” A girl with shoulder-length, curly brown hair holds up her hand in front of a silver-haired girl’s face. The brunette’s brown eyes are narrowed and full of seriousness, which is only highlighted by her red fang clan marks. “So, you’re telling me, you can sense all the way back to your clan estate by just  **focusing** .” 

“Yes,” Tobirama answers promptly, not batting an eye at the other girl’s casual lack of sense of personal space. 

“By _just_ **focusing**.” Yuzuki gapes, still not believing her sensitive ears. “Focusing of all things!” The curly-haired brunette turns to her faithful dog companion with astonishment stuck in her throat. “Momomaru, do you think we can do that too if we put our minds to it?” 

The German shepherd naturally barks with what seems to be exasperation at her partner’s idiocy. 

Tobirama joins the dog with her own sigh. “It’s mostly due to training and my natural sensory abilities, Yuzuki.” 

The Inuzuka girl is silent for a few seconds before she resumes with a tilt of her head. “So…” Yuzuki pouts as she sinks into a disappointed slouch. “I can’t…?” 

Momomaru seems to have given up on explaining the whole concept of sensing to her partner, the German shepherd doing the intelligent decision of allowing Tobirama to take the reigns. The silver-haired genius shakes her head with slight exasperation. This was just like explaining something to Hashirama. “You can do enhanced sensing—just in a different way from how I do mine.” Tobirama clarifies carefully, trying to make sure the curly-haired brunette understands the concepts she is trying to convey. “You can smell and hear things better than I can, with your dog-like features.” Yuzuki nods before sniffing the air as if to check if this information is true. Tobirama continues on after Yuzuki gives another unconscious bob of her head. “On the other hand, my sensing is more me just seeing and feeling the distinct chakra signatures.” 

“So, you could sense the area right now and tell me just who is within a mile radius of us?” Yuzuki arches an eyebrow at the other girl. 

“Yes,” Tobirama confirms. 

Yuzuki claps her hands, excitedly. “Then do it! Do it!” Even Momomaru had her tail wagging rather enthusiastically as she pants with her bright, pink tongue sticking out on the side. 

“Okay,” Tobirama agrees. The silver-haired girl closes her eyes and she kneels down to touch the ground. In an instant, her world turns dark—and then some outlines are drawn in white, showing the surrounding areas. Next, bodies of spiritual aura flash into her mind. Tobirama narrows her parameters for those within a mile of her. She focuses on a certain group of chakra signatures—all familiar to her. “That’s odd…” 

“What’s odd?” Yuzuki tilts her head as Momomaru whines and nuzzles her head into Tobirama’s side. 

“Touka is with Izuna and Hikaku.” Tobirama had seen it three chakra signatures. The one fiery yet calm teal aura belongs to her beloved cousin, Touka. The bright and warm, playful blue chakra belongs to her rival, Izuna. The more exhausted yet somehow cool indigo aura belongs to the Uchiha’s third-in-command, Hikaku. Though all three are gathered together, the signatures are not unstable like they are in the middle of a fight—no, instead, it’s almost serene and they seem to be heading all in the same direction—towards her. 

“And that is odd… how?” Yuzuki blinks, her voice snapping Tobirama from her trail of thought. “Who are those people anyway?” 

“Touka is my cousin and third-in-command of the Senju forces,” Tobirama explains. “Hikaku is the same but for the Uchiha clan and Izuna is the Uchiha clan heir like how I am for the Senju.” 

The curly-haired brunette shrieks, “You mean  _ that  _ Izuna and Touka?! But why would the Uchiha and Senju be together?” Yuzuki then gasps, exchanging bewildered looks with Momomaru before twirling back to Tobirama’s calm face. “Don’t tell me they’re fighting?!” 

“No, they aren’t fighting. Their chakra signatures are too calm.” The silver-haired girl averts her crimson eyes to the ground. “...They are most likely searching for me.” 

“That’s great! Doesn’t that mean that the Uchiha and Senju are actually getting along for once?!” Yuzuki energetically claps her hands together in celebration, Momomaru joining in with a happy bark. “How far away are they from us?” 

Tobirama concentrates again, gauging the distance between the supposed search party and them—which was somewhat difficult given that the party was on the move. “They are about… eight-hundred meters from us…” Tobirama’s breath hitches as an abrupt amount of signatures invade the perimeter.  

Yuzuki panics by the sudden action. “What?” Momomaru jumps to action as well, closing in on the silver-haired girl whose eyebrows are furrowed. “What is it?” 

“There is a large group heading towards them… sixteen… no—twenty-five chakra signatures…!” Tobirama grimaces, not liking this situation at all. 

“An ally? Or… an enemy?” Yuzuki carefully inquires. 

The silver-haired girl bites her lip.  “...an enemy.” Tobirama could recognize these blends of chakra anywhere. After the incident with Kawarama, she has become cautious of this chakra blend. “Hagoromo clan from the way they are sensing the area and their chakra.” 

‘The Hagoromo clan…?” Yuzuki’s voice is grim with slight confusion and disbelief. “But, why?” 

Tobirama stands up, dusting her legs off as she stares in the direction of the Senju-Uchiha group. Her crimson eyes narrow at the trees in the distance as the words flow out of her lips. “...An ambush.” 

 

“You know I thought we’d be partners someday,” Izuna smirks playfully as he tilts his head back to get a glance of Senju Touka’s neatly tied bun. “But I didn’t think we would be so early on.” The Uchiha heir shrugs as he shakes his head and sighs. “I wish we could’ve gotten a date or two in first.” 

A dark eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “Shut up, Izuna!” Hikaku shouts at his best friend in irritation. “This is no time to be flirting!” This was not a good situation at all. They were surrounded by like twenty to thirty ninjas with their back to each other like corned prey. “And I’m  **right here** standing with you both as well!” 

“Oh, Hikaku,” Izuna now turns to his friend, blinking as if he had just realized the other Uchiha’s presence. “You were there?” The Uchiha heir fends off a horde of kunai with his own, making sure none hits him or the rest of his party. 

“Izuna, just shut up and focus.” Hikaku snarls as he fends off a particularly nasty katana strike. 

Touka shouts at both of them as she jabs at the crowd in front of her with her naginata. “Is this really the best time for you two idiots to be arguing?” 

“Oh! Of course, my dear! It’s a perfect time!~” Izuna hums as he throws a few kunai and shuriken at the ninjas. The dark-haired man then laughs and winks at the woman. “After all, it does sort of build a mood, you know?”

“No, I don’t” Both Touka and Hikaku, the current voices of reason, deadpan in sync. 

“Shut up, Hikaku. Don’t ruin the moment!” Izuna wails at his ponytailed best friend as he unsheathes his katana to fend off another wave of attacks. 

Touka groans. “Seriously! Can’t you two argue when we are not fending ourselves off back to back against a mob of enemie—?!” 

“Oh!” Abruptly, a high-pitched voice rings like a bell. “We’re just in time!” 

Everyone freezes—the attackers and the Tobirama search party all turn to the source of the disturbance. 

On a tree branch stands a woman with messy, shoulder-length curly brown hair and red fang clan marks under her eyes—an Inuzuka—wearing a light brown fur-trimmed black jacket with a fish-net shirt inside and a pair of cargo pants. The brunette has a wolfish smirk on her face as her chocolate brown eyes show a glint of predatory rush. A growl catches the attention of the whole atmosphere, drawing everyone’s eyes to the German shepherd which strides out of the bush on the opposite end of the clearing. It’s dark brown eyes are mesmerizing yet terrifying as it carefully steps forward. 

The crowd is so thoroughly distracted by the two intruders that when a sudden white blur speeds through them—they don’t know what hits them. 

There is a flash and all of a sudden, a familiar figure rises in front of the startled Uchiha Izuna. 

With short and messy pearly-silver hair matched by crimson-scarlet orbs as red as blood, Senju Tobirama appears in front of her rival and cousin. A light, practically invisible smirk plays on the girl’s lips. “I hope you weren’t struggling, cousin, Uchiha.” 

“Tobirama!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was it? I know the last scene might have been kind of bad...  
> I kind of wanted to make it more dramatic... but I really wanted to finish this chapter and I didn't think the other thing I wanted to fit in would work as well as a chapter closer...   
> The next chapter will probably be more action-y though!
> 
> Anyways, remember those SYOCs and scenario requests!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update guys! I've been busy with school plus trying to make sure I'm not derailing myself on the plot and character growth!   
> The Tobirama Search arc is coming to an end... but it was only a mini-arc of a bigger arc! This is all the "Peace Treaty Arc"!!!!  
> Now, with the peace treaty arc coming to an end, the SYOC event will end (at the end of the arc). So, remember, send your OC before it's too late!  
> Also, if you have any scenario ideas please tell me! (if not I'll try to end this series with around 60 chapters! cause so far with my current plans I have like a layout of 60+/- chapters...)  
> Besides that, I'm still looking for Izuna mangekyo ideas (i think...?) so if you have any bright ideas that you wouldn't mind me using, tell me!
> 
> I hope you enjoy~ (And don't be too harsh on Hashirama)

A light smirk dances on the enchanting warrior’s neutral lips. “I hope you weren’t struggling, cousin, Uchiha.” Tobirama’s voice is crisp, calm yet there is a light teasing tone to her words as she addresses her cousin and rivals. 

“Tobirama!” Touka squeals with glee, almost tackling her dear baby cousin then and there. 

Well, that and strangling the girl for ever trying to run away from home, that is. 

However, Touka stays in her battle stance, composed and mature despite the rush of emotions. Instead of jumping her cousin and strangling her to death, Touka decides to do the mature thing and welcome her cousin into the combat circle as she points her naginata at the fallen opponents. “Of course not.” 

Izuna inputs with a casual smirk. “Have you decided to finally stop playing hooky, Tobirama? This beautiful cousin of yours was worried sick, you know?” With the flirty remark, he winks to the dark-haired woman beside him. 

Tobirama promptly ignores what her rival had just done to Touka, ignoring the fact that Izuna was probably flirting with her cousin and most likely has been doing so the whole trip. It’s not like she particularly cared or mind in the slightest—Touka could definitely take care of herself when it came to those matters. However, the comment of Touka’s worry struck her mind with guilt. “I can imagine.” 

Izuna playfully grins, “Well, you don’t have to worry, I comforted her for yo—” 

Tobirama arches an eyebrow with an underlying empty threat. “I highly advise you to shut your mouth, Izuna, before that statement comes out all the way.” 

Well, it was an empty threat coming from her. The one who would beat him senseless would be her irritated cousin beside him after all. 

“Oh, thank god! Finally another rational person!” Hikaku rejoices. From his voice, one could hear the invisible tears streaming from his eyes. 

A growl is heard as two figures jump in to join the circle. “Hey! Don’t leave us out!” Yuzuki whines as she presses to join the group. Momomaru follows close behind with a bark. 

Touka tilts her head to glimpse at the shorter girl and dog before turning her attention back to Tobirama. “Who are they?” 

“My escorts from the Inuzuka clan,” Tobirama answers curtly.

Yuzuki cuts in then cheerily with a little wave. “I’m Yuzuki and this is Momomaru! Nice to meet you~” 

“This is a pleasure and all—” Izuna interjects, “—but it would be much lovelier to watch you, two lovely ladies, when there are fewer brutes contaminating the air.” He narrows his obsidian eyes at the leftover crowd of ninja surrounding them as his usual smirk twists into a grimace. Crimson swirls and blends with black and the Sharingan flares to life in his eyes. “How about we take care of these guys quickly so we can head home?” 

There is a twitch in her lips as Tobirama’s mouth curls up into a smirk and her crimson eyes narrowed. “I must agree with you on this one, Izuna.” The silver-haired woman draws her katana as she falls into a fighting stance amongst the group. 

Everyone else takes these words as a signal to brace themselves. Touka quickly shifts back to readying her naginata as Hikaku makes sure to close the remaining gap in the formation. Yuzuki and Momomaru snarl as their predatory eyes glare at their prey. 

“Well, well~” The sound of clapping draws the group’s attention to a lone female ninja. She is quite tall but shorter than Touka with a voluptuous figure and long, wavy dark brown hair. “We have some real infamous figures over here!~” 

Tobirama focuses on the figure. It was obvious that she was the leader of this ambush, given how Tobirama senses that her chakra levels are much higher and more trained than the ones of the lackeys. In addition, the fact that she is a woman from the male-dominant Hagoromo clan, then there was only a few possibilities on the identity of this woman. If you take into account the group they were supposedly ambushing, then the answer was clear. 

She was Hagoromo Miyako— 

—the Hagoromo clan’s top genjutsu user and specialist. 

The Hagoromo clan are known for their usage of brutal taijutsu and ninja techniques—the clan heads for some generations have preferred brute strength over the subtle illusionary aspects of genjutsu. Due to this specialization, the Hagoromo clan had a tendency to be male-dominant, with the strongest figures in their clan being men who could take out armies just by using their clan techniques of taijutsu, kenjutsu, and ninjutsu. It was rather rare for anyone in the Hagoromo clan to strive to specialize in genjutsu and even rarer for a woman to rise in ranks. 

However, Hagoromo Miyako had done both and rose in ranks to be a general level ninja. 

Miyako’s smirk doesn’t leave her lips as she turns to her subordinates. As quickly as she does this, she shouts in a commanding tone. “Retreat! Senju Tobirama is a ‘retreat-on-sight’ enemy! We cannot afford to lose this many promising clan warriors here! Retreat!” Miyako orders before she turns back to the group and scowls before she hastily begins retreating herself. 

“Yeah! Go and run with your tail between your legs, you scaredy-cats!” Yuzuki hollers after the fleeing masses. The curly-haired brunette laughs with a wolfish grin as her German Shepherd partner shakes her head in exasperation at the woman’s childishness. 

Touka chuckles at the brunette before she turns back to her cousin. Her dark eyes softened as she approaches the silver-haired crossdresser. “Tobirama…!” Touka wraps her arms around Tobirama, bringing the woman into a suffocating hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you were missing… I was so worried about you!” 

Tobirama’s crimson eyes softened as she began rubbing circles on Touka’s back to soothe the woman. “I’m sorry, Touka, for worrying you.” 

“You better be…!” Touka squeezes Tobirama extra hard, causing the woman to grunt at the sudden pain. The tall dark-haired woman finally releases her with a small smile. “Don’t ever do that again, you got that?” At the end of her sentence, the woman glares and her voice darkens. “If Hashirama ever bullies you again, I’ll just give him a piece of my mind! There’s no need to run away from home…” 

Tobirama parts her lips as if to retort, however, she closes it and lifts them into a very discreet, small smile. “Yeah… I’ll do that.” 

Touka smiles back. Then her dark eyes fall on Tobirama’s figure which causes her to pause and blink. “By the way…” Tobirama’s attention is caught by Touka’s lighter tone of voice. “What’s with that thing you have around your neck, Tobirama?” 

Tobirama tilts her head briefly before realizing what her cousin is referring to. “This?” Lightly, Tobirama twiddles her fingers through the soft fur. “It was a parting gift from the Inuzuka clan.” 

“Oh…” Izuna takes this moment to jump into the conversation. The dark-haired young man leans towards the taller clan heir’s space as he examines the white fur scarf. “I was wondering where you go that… man, it looks cool..!” The Uchiha clan heir hastily twirls around to his fellow Uchiha full of excitement as he points to the white fur around Tobirama’s neck. “Hey, hey, Hikaku! Do you think I can get Nii-san to buy me one of these?” 

“Madara-sama will most likely throw you in the pond again, Izuna.” Hikaku deadpans. 

Izuna pouts, “No way~ Nii-san can’t resist my puppy face~” 

“More importantly,” Tobirama interrupts the two Uchiha’s banter with a serious tone, “The Hagoromo clan seems to be up to something…” The woman’s deep serious voice draws everyone’s undivided attention and pulls them into the rather grim mood. “They must have known about you guys searching for me or they wouldn’t have sent Miyako. You all are famous genjutsu specialists which is why instead of sending their other generals who didn’t specialize in genjutsu they sent the only one who did.” Tobirama deduces.

Surprisingly, it is Izuna who speaks next with just the same tone as the other clan heir. “Yes, however, they didn’t take into account that you would appear, Tobirama.” 

“Which is why they retreated…” Hikaku adds as his mind wanders on a thought. 

Tobirama nods, “We should be prepared—they may have more planned than this one ambush.”

“Especially since the signing of our peace treaty is nearing.” The Uchiha clan heir adds somewhat casually yet his tone was kept the same seriousness of the conversation. 

It takes a moment for Tobirama to process the information that her rival had left in his words. The silver-haired genius blinks, relaxes and turns to her rival. “You and Madara finally gave into Anija’s insistence?” 

Izuna pauses before chuckling. “It’s more like  **you** changed my thoughts on the Senju.” The raven-haired young man shrugs before twirling around to give a flirty grin to Touka. “Besides, how could I not have a change of heart when I’m around such a beautiful and strong woman.” 

Tobirama hums, promptly ignoring Izuna’s flirtation and allowing Touka to deal with them on her own. Out on the corner of her eye, she notices Hikaku’s panic over Izuna’s behavior.  _ Smart, but not assertive enough. _ She assesses blankly as she turns to Yuzuki and Momomaru. “I’ll be heading with them back home. Thank you for escorting me so far.” 

“It’s no problem! What are friends for?” Yuzuki laughs as she slaps Tobirama’s armored back. 

Momomaru rushes up to Tobirama, rubbing her snout along her black pants and giving her sparkling puppy eyes as if she is begging to be pet. The silver-haired genius doesn’t resist, complying with the request. Tobirama laces her fingers through Momomaru’s brown and black fur, gently, before giving a scratch behind her ears which she leans into. With one last scratch and pet, Tobirama releases Momomaru and returns her attention to Yuzuki who gives her a bright grin. “Come and visit us anytime, okay!”

Tobirama smiles slightly in return. “Yeah,” 

“Right... Then, we better get going!” Yuzuki motions Momomaru to follow her. Before she leaves, she waves to the group, “Bye, Bye! See you all later!~” 

The rest of the group wave in return, saying goodbye to the brunette and her canine partner as she departs. Faintly, in the distance, they could hear a bark and a shout declaring a race back to home. 

“Shall we head home now?” Tobirama turns back to the group. 

“Yeah,” Touka nods, “Let’s head home.” 

 

“Hmm…” Tobirama hums as she follows behind her cousin and rival. “At least they were more efficient than I thought they would be while I was gone.” She isn’t talking to anyone in particular, just letting the thought hang in the tense air between her and the Uchiha third-in-command. 

At the moment, the quartet is walking down the streets of a civilian village. Stalls stood at each side of the street along the side of buildings as well as in alleyways. The air is a bit stuffy with how many people populate the village, however, there is enough room for the four ninjas to walk together without getting separated as they approach their destination. 

“I can’t imagine Anija had much to do with the location…” Tobirama comments out loud before slightly turning to her companion, Hikaku. “I take it it was your clan head who had managed this?” 

Hikaku’s shoulders are tense, but somehow he is alive while walking beside Senju Tobirama. The pony-tailed Uchiha can’t help but feel unnerved when beside the genius Senju known for his brutality on the battlefield as he slays hundreds of well-trained warriors of his own clan. However, he keeps chanting in his mind to stay calm—it was not as if the Senju was exerting any sort of killing intent one would find on the battlefield here on the streets of a civilian village as they head towards the inn where the peace treaty negotiations are taking place at. 

Thankfully, Hikaku was able to escape answering as Izuna had jumped into the conversation. “Yeah! Nii-san sent one of his hawks to us while we were looking for you which told us the location of the inn!~” 

Tobirama’s crimson eyes linger on Hikaku’s slight retreating body language and hums as she averts her attention back to the inn coming into sight. Unconsciously, her jaw tightens as she feels Hashirama’s sunshine-warm chakra which glows a bright and pure slight yellow-green. It was kind of like a soft patch of cloves in a field with their leaves warm from bathing in the sunlight. 

Then a sudden burst of burning heat blocks the image in her mind as a red, flame-like chakra comes into her senses. This one was scarlet with bits of dark indigo at the ends of the flares as if they were flames which gradually faded and sparked into the serene, starry night. It was hot, yet not harmfully so—more comforting in all honesty.  _ Madara. _

Tobirama’s breath hitches as she notices the suddenly moving sunlight-bathed chakra. It was moving as if rushing and the genius knew all too well what was happening when the other massive chakra presence in the room had followed behind the first one. 

The silver-haired genius freezes right in front of the inn, alarming the rest of the party and causing them to turn to face her with confused expressions. The only answer Tobirama gives is, “He’s coming.” 

Right after the words leave her mouth, the entrance of the inn slams open and a brown blurring figure rushes out of it and tackles the silver-haired woman. “Tobirama!” 

The whole action was too fast for the other three to process and it takes them a few seconds before they react and twirl around to get a look at the scene. 

Hashirama has Tobirama in his arms, the older Senju squeezing the younger in a tight hug as tears stream down his face. Apologies spew from his mouth like a pouring rain shower, seemingly unending. Tobirama is tense in her brother’s arms and it takes her a few minutes of listening to Hashirama’s constant apologies before she reacts. The silver-haired woman shoves her older brother away to tell him off only to freeze up when she notices the look in his eyes. 

Hashirama’s chocolate brown eyes were warm and focused on her— **only her** . 

She could feel the building wetness in her eyes and quickly dives for cover back into Hashirama arms. Tobirama buries her face into Hashirama’s shoulder—an act she reasons with hiding the unsightly tears from the Uchiha. Hashirama is shocked by the action and is now flailing as he asks Tobirama what was wrong and the rest of the group what he should do. 

Tobirama breathes in the scent of daisies and the sun-warmed grass of Hashirama’s clothes and long hair. The daisies came from his shampoo, Tobirama knew that. The grass scent most likely came from Hashirama lying on the grass for an afternoon nap. It has been a while since she has felt the warmth of a hug. 

_ When was the last time I hugged Anija…? _

A small smile lifts on her lips. 

 

_ I’m home.  _

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Tobirama does not actually cry. It's just some stray tears that no one catches! I hope you liked this ending to the Tobirama Search arc!   
> Anyways, how do you think I should move from here? What are your predictions of what will happen next? I would love to hear your reactions and ideas and predictions!   
> Anyways, remember that the SYOC event will end with this whole peace treaty arc. So consider that when the peace treaty is signed that the SYOC shop has ended! Please send them before you regret it!  
> Don't forget that if you want to see some scenarios to tell me (no guarantee I will use them if it doesn't fit the AU though) [P.S. this includes scenarios involved with OCs]  
> Also, if you have any ideas for Izuna's mangekyo please tell me!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story!  
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think? In this chapter, I wanted to nail in some background rather than put any actual plot... The next chapter will be dealing with the plot :P
> 
> I might be doing a SYOC for this fanfic (because, well, it's the Founders Era and there aren't many characters so half of them end up being OCs...) This gives you all the opportunity to add in your characters! Whether civilian or ninja! You just need to comment with this information:
> 
> Full Name: [last to first]  
> Gender:  
> Age: [or age group-- ex: "Tobirama's age" or "Madara's age" or "Touka's age" or "Izuna's age"-- there aren't clear ages yet, but once I've figured it out, I'll tell you all!]  
> Occupation: [ninja, civilian, merchant, etc.]  
> Bio:  
> Personality: [include prominent quirks and hobbies, etc.]  
> Appearance:  
> Skills/Fighting Style: [mostly for ninjas, but can say skills like blacksmithing or fishing and etc.]  
> {Please fill this out with as much detail as possible to create a better similarity to a character you would want}
> 
> Remember, please send in scenario requests!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave!~


End file.
